f^olmEDGE  &  Sorts. 


2 

O 

5 


THE  GREAT  CITIES 


OF    THE 


MODERN    WORLD. 


THE  GREAT  CITIES 


MODERN    WORLD 


HELEN    AINSLIE   SMITH 


(HAZEL  SHEPARD) 


SECOND  EDITION 


WITH    TWO    HUNDRED    AND    SEVENTY    ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW   YORK 

GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  AND  SONS 

9  LAFAYETTE  PLACE 


IN   UNIFORM   STYLE. 

Copiously  Illustrated. 


ONE  HUNDRED  FAMOUS  AMERICANS 

HEROES  OF   AMERICAN  DISCOVERY. 

GREAT  CITIES  OF  THE  ANCIENT 
WORLD. 

GREAT  CITIES  OF  THE  MODERN 
WORLD. 

PAUL  AND  VIRGINIA. 

ILLUSTRATED  POEMS  AND  SONGS 
FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

LABOULAYE'S  ILLUSTRATED  FAIRY 
TALES. 

SPORTS  AND  PASTIMES  OF  AMERI- 
CAN BOYS. 

THE  PILGRIM'S  PROGRESS. 

LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  ROBIN- 
SON CRUSOE. 

THE  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 

LAMB'S  TALES  FROM  SHAKESPEARE. 

WOOD'S  ILLUSTRATED  NATURAL 
HISTORY  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 


All  bound  in  handsome  lithographed  double 
covers  ;  also  in  cloth. 

George  Routledge  6°  Sons, 

9  LAFAYETTE  PLACE,   NEW  YORK. 


Copyright,   1885, 
By  JOSEPH  L.  BLAMIRE. 


lancroft  Library 


PREFACE. 


THERE  is  a  saying,  as  old  as  it  is  true,  that  he  who  would  be  a  writer  must  first  of  all 
have  something  to  write — something  new  to  tell,  or  some  new  or  better  way  of  putting 
forth  what  is  already  known.  This  volume  has  not  been  called  into  existence  as  some- 
thing new,  but  because  there  was  not,  so  far  as  could  be  found,  any  work  devoted  en- 
tirely to  a  description  of  the  outward  appearance  and  real  position  of  the  GREAT  CITIES  OF 
THE  MODERN  WORLD.  A  metropolis  represents  a  focus  of  power;  the  chief  forces  of  a 
country's  civilization  are  centered  in  its  great  towns;  and  it  has  been  believed  that  in 
giving  a  description  of  the  large  cities  of  the  chief  countries  of  the  world,  and  bringing 
them  together  in  a  classified  volume,  there  will  be  presented  in  a  condensed  form  the 
leading  features,  not  only  of  the  great  cities  of  the  world,  as  a  whole,  but  also  of  the 
civic  national  life  of  all  the  important  countries  of  the  globe.  The  endeavor  has  been 
to  prepare  a  book  instructive  and  interesting  to  readers  of  all  ages,  but  especially  to 
place  before  young  people  a  clear  and,  in  a  measure,  complete  idea  of  the  greatest  cities 
of  our  time,  rated  according  to  size,  importance  in  intellectual,  commercial,  and  manu- 
facturing power,  and  descriptive  of  population  and  architectural  appearance.  In  all 
cases  the  aim  has  been  to  make  the  leading  features — either  of  a  single  city  or  a  national 
group — stand  out  prominently  and  leave  the  strongest  impression.  To  combine  all  these 
characteristics  into  a  single  volume  upon  so  broad  a  subject  it  has  been  necessary  to 
consult  a  multitude  of  authorities;  and,  although  these  are  far  too  many  for  the  briefest 
enumeration,  it  is  but  just  to  acknowledge  that  valuable  aid  has  been  received  from  the 
standard  encyclopaedias  and  from  nearly  all  the  leading  works  of  reference  of  both 
special  and  general  character  whose  scope  comes  in  any  way  within  that  of  the  Great 
Cities  of  the  Modern  World. 

HAZEL  SHEPARD. 

ORANGE,  N.  J.,  September,  1885. 


CONTENTS. 


RUSSIA: — 

St.  Petersburg  ........         7 

Moscow      .........  10 

Lower  Novgorod       .  .  .  .  .  .  19 

Riga         ........  .  28 

Odessa  .........        28 

ENGLAND: — 

London    .........  30 

Liverpool       ...  .  ....        46 

Manchester  ........  50 

Birmingham  .  .  *  .  .  .  .  .52 

Leeds      .........  55 

Sheffield         ....  .  .  .  .  .  .56 

Bristol  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  58 

Bradford        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .58 

Newcastle  ........  59 

Eton  .  ........          59 

Rugby  ........  60 

Oxford        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .60 

Cambridge          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .61 

FRANCE: — 

Paris        .  ........  63 

Lyons  .  ........        95 

Marseilles  ........  97 

Nimes  ..........       101 

Toulouse  .  .  ......  101 

Bordeaux        .  .  .  .  .  ...  .  .       102 

Nantes  .  .  .  ......  103 


iv  Contents. 

PAGE 

FRANCE: — 

Havre        .             .             .......  104 

Rouen               .             .             .......  104 

Lille           .              .             .......  107 

St.  Etienne       .......                         .  107 

GERMANY: — 

Berlin        .              .             .            .            .            .            .            ...  108 

Hamburg        .              .            .            .            .            .            .                         .  132 

Breslau      .             ........  135 

Dresden           .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .  136 

Munich      .........  139 

Bremen           .              ........  141 

Bremerhaven         ........  142 

Frankfort       .              .            .                         .            .            .            .            .  142 

Cologne    .........  143 

Leipzic            .........  144 

Magdeburg          .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .  146 

SCANDINAVIA: — 

Copenhagen     .........  148 

Stockholm            .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .  151 

Christiania     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .152 

NETHERLANDS: — 

Amsterdam          .........  155 

Rotterdam    .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .  158 

The  Hague          .........  160 

Schenevingen            ........  161 

Utrecht      ..........  161 

Leyden          .........  162 

Haarlem     ..........  162 

BELGIUM: — 

Brussels        .........  165 

Antwerp              .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .  •  168 

Ghent        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .176 

Liege    ....  .  .  .  .  .  .176 

Bruges      .                ........  176 

Mechlin             .........  176 

Louvain    ,               ........  176 


Contents. 


SWITZERLAND: — 

Geneva  .            .            .            •            •            •            .            .            .     i?7 

Basle          .  .....•••            l82 

Berne     .  ....•••             .182 

IRELAND: — 

Queenstown  .                         .            •            •            •            •            •            *^4 

Belfast  ....                         .                                      .186 

Dublin        .......  186 

SCOTLAND: — 

Edinburgh  ...                                       .                                       .189 

Glasgow  ......                                     193 

Dundee  ....                          .                                       .    194 

Aberdeen  .             .             .             .             .             •             •                         J94 

SPAIN: — 

Madrid  .                                                                                                     -    195 

Barcelona  ........            200 

Malaga          .  ........     202 

Valencia  .              ......                         203 

Seville           .  ........      204 

Granada  .              .......            207 

Cadiz            .  .                           ......     209 

PORTUGAL: — 

Lisbon      .  .              .             .             .             .             .             .210 

Oporto         .  .             .              .            .             •            .            •            .213 

ITALY: — 

Rome       .  .              .            .             .            .            .            .            216 

Naples          .  .                           ......      230 

Milan       .  .              ......            232 

Turin            .  .             .              ......      234 

Palermo  .  .              ......            235 

Florence  .             ,              .             .             .             .             .             .     235 

Genoa  .              .             ...             .              .            .            .            242 

Venice  .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .      244 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: — 

Vienna        .  .              .               .             .             .             .             .             .      249 

Buda-Pesth  .             .              ......            262 

Prague      .  .              .               ......      264 

Trieste  .                                        .             .                                       266 


vi  Contents. 

PAGE 

THE  LEVANT: — 

Constantinople        .               .               .....*  267 

Damascus         ......  277 

Cairo         .......                          .  280 

Alexandria        .              .              .....  285 

INDIA: — 

Bombay         .                        .              .....  288 

Calcutta            .             .              .            .             .             .             .                        •  295 

Madras     .              .              .              ......  298 

CHINA: — 

Pekin                 .              ........  3°° 

Hangchau                ......                          .  308 

Canton              .              ........  310 

Nanking     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .312 

Suchan             .             .             .              .             .             .             .             .            .  312 

Shanghai    .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .             •  3X4 

Tientsin            .             .             .             ...             .             .             .             .  315 

Si-ngau      .........  316 

Fuchan            .  •                      .             .             .             .             .             .             .  316 

JAPAN: — 

Tokio        .........  3J9 

Osaka              .........  326 

Kioto         .........  327 

Miako              .........  327 

Sai-kiyo     .........  327 

SOUTH  AMERICA: — 

Rio  de  Janeiro            .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .  328 

Buenos  Ayres      .            ...            .            .            .            .            .  330 

Santiago          .........  331 

Lima         .........  331 

CANADA: — 

Montreal         .........  333 

Toronto               .             .......  336 

Quebec    .                   ........  337 

Ottawa               '.             .            .            .             .            .             .             .  337 

MEXICO        .         .              .              ...              ....  339 

UNITED  STATES: — 

New  York  City  ........  343 


Contents. 


vn 


UNITED  STATES: — 
Brooklyn     . 
Buffalo 
Albany 
Rochester 
Troy 
Syracuse 
Boston 
Cambridge 
Lowell 
Worcester 
Fall  River 
Providence 
New  Haven 
Hartford 
Portland 
Philadelphia 
Pittsburgh 
Allegheny 
Scranton 
Reading 
Harrisburg 
Wilmington    . 
Newark 
Paterson 
Jersey  City 
Hoboken 
Baltimore 
Washington 
Chicago 
St.  Louis 
Cincinnati 
Cleveland    . 
Louisville 
Detroit 
Milwaukee 
San  Francisco 
New  Orleans 


366 
368 
37° 
37i 

372 
372 
372 
384 
384 

385 
386 

386 

387 
388 

389 
390 
397 
398 
398 
398 
399 
399 
399 
400 
400 
400 
400 
402 
406 

4i5 
420 
421 
422 
422 

423 
424 

426 


Great  Cities  of  the  Modern  World. 


RUSSIA. 


THE  Empire  of  Russia  lies  in  Europe  and  in  Asia  ;  from  Sweden,  the  Baltic,  Prussia 
and  Austria,  eastward  to  the  Pacific  ;  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  China,  Turkestan, 
the  Caspian  Sea,  Persia,  Turkey  and1  the  Black  Sea.  This  is  a  very  large  part  of  the  globe, — 
nearly  one  twenty-sixth  of  it,  and  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  land  of  the  whole  earth. 
The  population  of  this  great  empire  is  about  one  hundred  millions.  The  principal  cities 
are  in  Europe,  where  the  "  smaller  half  "  of  Russia  lies. 

St.  Petersburg  is  the  capital,  and  largest  city  of  the  country.  Its  population  is 
nearly  nine  hundred  thousand,  which  is  greater  than  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  It 
stands  upon  the  lower  branches  of  the  clear  blue  Neva  River.  Before  the  time  of 
Peter  the  Great,  this  was  only  a  tract  of  marshes  ;  but  the  great  "  reformer  "  said  his 
country  needed  "a  window  by  which  the  Russians  might  look  into  civilized  Europe." 
So  the  marshes  were  drained,  and  in  1703  a  magnificent  city  was  begun.  Most  of  it  lies 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  ;  the  remainder  is  scattered  over  the  northern  bank 
and  the  islands. 

Fourteen  arms  of  the  Neva  flow  through  St.  Petersburg,  beside  many  smaller 
branches,  and  seven  canals.  The  different  parts  of  the  town  are  connected  by  bridges. 
In  summer  time,  little  two-oared  ferry-boats  ply  from  one  shore  to  another,  while  small 
steam  launches  are  ready  for  greater  distances.  In  winter  the  scene  is  very  different. 
Then  we  see  the  snow-picture,  which  lasts  from  October  until  April.  Boats  are  useless. 
Bridges  are  largely  neglected.  King  Winter  binds  the  streams,  even  the  "  Big  Neva," 
with  a  coating  of  ice  that  will  bear  the  heaviest  of  burdens.  All  the  people  who  do  not 
walk  or  skate  are  carried  about  over  streams  and  through  the  snow-paved  streets  by 
sledges  and  hand  sleighs.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  then  to  see  the  splendid  palace-lined 
streets  with  their  red,  stucco-ornamented  fronts  and  gilded  balconies  glittering  with  ice, 
while  the  snow-white  roadway  is  filled  with  handsome  sleighs  drawn  by  spirited  horses, 
who  toss  their  plumed  heads  and  jingle  merry  sounding  bells. 


IO 


Cities  of  the  World. 


The  most  important  of  the  islands  of  St.  Petersburg,  is  Basil  Island,  or  Vassiliostrof. 
It  is  connected  with  the  southern  bank  of  the  river,  in  one  place,  by  a  beautiful,  large 
stone  bridge,  named  after  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  The  shore  of  Vassiliostrof  is  lined 
with  quays  and  shipping  docks  ;  and  upon  it  are  the  Custom  House  and  Exchange,  beside 

some  fine  university 
and  academy  build- 
ings ;  for  many  of  the 
most  important  insti- 
tutions of  Russia  are 
in  or  near  St.  Peters- 
burg. On  another 
island  stands  the  pic- 
turesque Fortress  and 
Cathedral  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  where 
the  Imperial  Family 
are  buried.  There 
are  dungeons  under- 
neath the  church, 
used  for  a  State 
Prison.  It  is  a  massive 
building,  with  slender, 
gilded  spire  almost 
four  hundred  feet 
high. 

Every  thing  in  St. 
Petersburg  seems 
planned  to  be  large. 
The  streets  are  broad  ; 
the  squares,  palaces 
and  public  buildings 
are  all  on  a  grand 
scale.  It  stands  on  a 
noble  river,  an  Impe- 
rial city,  the  capital 
and  European  door- 
houses  are  built  in  such 


STREET    IN    ST.   PETERSBURG. 


way  to  the  largest  empire  in  the  world.     Even  the  private 
large  blocks  that  many  of  them  hold  twenty  separate  families. 

Seen  covered  with  a  layer  of  hoar  frost,  the  majestic,  gilded  dome  and  red  pillars 


12 


Cities  of  the   World. 


of  St.  Isaac's  Cathedral  are  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sights  in  the  city.  The  lofty  doors  are 
always  open  ;  and  although  the  visitor  may  think  the  inside  gaudy  and  in  poor  taste, 
it  is  certainly  magnificent.  From  the  richest  of  Russia's  limitless  mines  there  has  been 
brought  countless  precious  stones,  metals  and  marbles,  which  by  skillful  hands  have  been 
wrought  into  glittering  and  showy  decorations.  The  Russians  are  also  very  proud  of 
the  Kazan  church,  which  stands  on  one  of  the  wide  streets  that  spread  out  fan-like 
from  the  great  Admiralty  Place.  This  square  is  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Neva,  and 
contains  one  mass  of  buildings  for  naval  use,  which  make  a  noble  fafade  along  the  river 
for  half  a  mile.  Close  by  it  is  the  Palace  Square  and  Alexander's  Column,  which  is  a 


THE  EXCHANGE,  OR  PALACE  OF  THE  BOURSE,  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

shaft  made  of  one  piece  of  red  granite  eighty  feet  high.    It  is  adorned  with  bronze  made 
of  captured  Turkish  cannon,  and  altogether  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 

St.  Petersburg  is  sometimes  called  the  City  of  Palaces,  for  there  are  a  great  many  other 
magnificent  homes  beside  the  famous  Winter  Palace ;  and,  although  there  is  not  another 
in  the  world  so  large,  some  of  the  smaller  ones  in  the  city  are  thought  to  be  more  beauti- 
ful. The  Hermitage,  a  palace  connected  by  several  galleries  with  the  Winter  Palace, 
has  a  very  fine  collection  of  paintings,  and  the  grand  city  squares  abound  with  works 
of  art  in  statuary  and  monuments.  The  noblest  of  them  all  is  the  statue  of  Peter  the 


I4  Cities  of  the   World. 

Great  on  horseback,  in  Peter's  Square,  which  is  opposite  St.   Isaac's   and  close  to  the 


river. 


In  the  Russian  capital  there  are  large  manufactories,  and  trade  is  carried  on  in 
tapestry,  glass,  porcelain,  malachite  ornaments,  and  many  other  things.  One-third  of 
all  Russia's  foreign  trade  is  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  port  of  the  city  is  at  Cronstadt,  not 
far  away,  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  The  waters  of  the  Neva  will  not  admit  large  vessels 
to  St.  Petersburg,  although  the  floods  sometimes  rise  high  enough  to  do  the  city  a  great 
deal  of  damage. 

By  whichever  way  one  leaves  the  capital,  unless  he   go  by   water,  he  must  pass 


ACADEMY    OF    SCIENCES,    ST.    PETERSBURG. 

through  several  hundred  miles  of  uninhabited  forest  and  morass.  To  the  south-east,  is 
a  carefully  cultivated  and  fertile  country  in  the  center  of  which,  about  400  miles 
from  St.  Petersburg,  is  Moscow.  Very  rich  and  magnificent  it  appears  from  a  distance 
this  "  city  of  domes  in  the  air  "  with  its  cupolas  of  many  colors,  blazing  in  silvering  and 
gilding  and  the  battlements  of  the  Kremlin  high  in  the  center.  It  is  the  home  of  about 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  which  is  nearly  three  thousand  more  than  there 
are  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  It  stands  on  the  "  mossy  river,"  Moskva,  a  branch  of  the 


Moscow.  1 5 

Volga.     Until  the  year  1712  Moscow  was  the  capital  of  Russia.     It  is  now  the  wealthiest 
city  of  the  Empire. 

The  Kremlin,  which  is  the  center  of  the  town,  stands  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river,  within  a  wall,  guarded  by  eighteen  towers.  Five  gates  open  -from  it  into  the 
''•ity.  They  are  all  wonderful.  Over  the  principal  one,  called  the  Redeemer  Gate,  is  a 
picture  of  Christ  ;  and  the  Emperor,  even,  takes  off  his  hat  and  bows  as  he  passes  through. 
Above  the  St.  Nicholas  Gate  is  a  figure  of  the  patron  Saint  of  Russia,  and  a  large  square 


STATUE    OF   PETER   THE   GREAT,    MOSCOW. 

tower.     The  fortifications  of  the  Kremlin  inclose  the  monuments  and  important  build- 
ings of  Moscow. 

Here  is  the  Cathedral  of  the  Annunciation,  over  whose  precious  paved  floors  of  jasper, 
agate  and  carnelian,  many  processions  have  passed,  to  the  baptism  of  an  imperial  baby, 
who,  in  later  years  has  led  his  bride  to  the  same  altar.  Perhaps,  in  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Assumption,  near  by,  he  was  crowned  ruler  of  all  the  Russias,  the  "  Czar  "  before  Peter 
the  Great's  time,  the  "  Emperor,"  since  :  and  after  a  stormy  or  a  peaceful  rule  the  Czar 


i6 


Cities  of  the    World. 


was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel  Michael,  but  the  Emperors  lie  buried  in 
the  Fortress  at  St.  Petersburg. 

That  great  bell  one  sees  standing  on  the  ground,  is  the  famous  "  Czar  Kolokol," 
the  largest  bell  in  the  world.  It  fell  in  the  fire  of  1737  and  was  injured.  Until  1837  it 
was  left  sunk  in  the  earth.  Then  it  was  raised,  and  made  the  dome  of  an  under-ground 
chapel.  Moscow  has  also  another  large  bell  which  is  in  use.  It  weighs  eighty  tons,  but 
is  a  little  more  than  half  the  size  of  the  "  great  "  bell. 


CZAR  KOLOKOL. 

It  is  two  hundred  feet,  up  the  Tower  of  Ivan,  near  by,  to  the  cross  on  that 
immense  gilded  dome,  which  contains  a  chime  of  thirty-four  bells.  From  the  Tower  one 
looks  down  upon  the  ancient  city,  with  its  painted  green  roofs  and  picturesque  turrets,  and 
sees  that  its  streets  run  in  all  directions  from  the  Kremlin — like  spokes  from  the  hub  of  a 
wheel.  About  a  mile  from  the  walls  of  the  Citadel  a  broad  boulevard  makes  a  circle 
about  the  Kremlin,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  crossing  all  the  streets.  About  a  half- 
mile  further  another  is  seen  running  the  same  as  the  first,  but,  of  course,  making  a  much 


Moscow. 


larger  circle.  To  the  east  of  the  Kremlin,  inside  the  first  boulevard,  is  the  Kitai 
Gorod,  or  the  walled  "  Chinese  Town,"  made  up  of  the  principal  stores  of  the  city 
and  the  great  bazar,  which  covers  three  squares,  but  is  divided  into  many  small  shops. 


CHURCH    IN    MOSCOW. 

Also  within  this  boulevard  is  the  Belvi  Gorod,  or  "  White  Town,"  with  its  many 
public  buildings.  The  new  marble  cathedral,  the  great  "  Temple  of  the  Saviour,"  stands 
here.  It  is  just  finished,  but  was  begun  in  1812  as  a  monument  to  the  success  of  Russia 


i8 


Cities  of  the  World. 


against  the  invasion  of  Napoleon.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  and  is  large  enough 
to  hold  ten  thousand  people  at  once.  The  inside  is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
and  gorgeous  in  the  world.  St.  Saviour's  dome  is  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  high. 

Beyond  the  first 

boulevard    is    the 

HI  Zemlianoi  Gorod, 
or  the  "Earthen 
Town,"  which  was 
given  this  name, 
long  ago  when  the 
city  was  surround- 
ed by  an  earthen 
rampart. 

The  ancient  cap- 
ital of  Russia,  like 
the  new,  has  fine 
libraries  and  muse- 
ums and  a  famous 
university;  its 
churches  are  said 
to  number  "  forty 
times  forty."  It 
does  more  manu- 
facturing than  any 
other  town  in 
Russia,  making 
woolen,  cotton  and 
silk  cloths,  jewel- 
ry, glass,  porcelain 
and  other  valuable 
articles.  Trade 
is  carried  on  by 
railroads  and  ca- 
nals in  summer 
and  by  sledges  in 

THE    GREAT    THEATER,   MOSCOW.  winter 

The  Russians  do  a  large  part  of  their  buying  and  selling  at  fairs,  held  regularly  in 
certain  parts  of  the  Empire.  The  most  important  of  these  is  held  every  summer  at 
Nijni  Novgorod. 


Novgorod.  1 9 

This  city  is  not  the  Novgorod  near  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  the  most  ancient  and  a  very 
interesting  town  of  Russia  ;  but  Nijni,  or  Lower  Novgorod  in  another  part  of  the 
country. 

Lower  Novgorod  is  a  picturesque  town  of  two  parts  about  260  miles  east  of 
Moscow,  where  the  Volga  and  Oka  rivers  meet.  On  the  south  side  of  the  Volga,  the 
fortified  "  upper  town  "  stands,  and  in  it  the  citadel  or  Kremlin,  two  cathedrals  and  the 
palaces  of  the  governors.  On  the  flat  ground  below  it  is  the  other  part  of  the  town,  made 


THE  WINTER  PALACE,  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

up  mostly  of  wooden  buildings.  This  is  where  the  business  is  done,  for  as  long  as  the 
rivers  are  open  Lower  Novgorod  has  a  large  trade,  especially  in  manufactured  goods. 
It  is  connected  by  the  rivers  with  twenty-four  of  the  states  of  Central  Russia,  with  the 
Baltic,  the  White  and  the  Caspian  Seas  ;  so  that  the  town  people  can  easily  find  regular 
markets  for  their  famous  Russian  leather,  steel  goods,  wax  candles,  pottery  and  many 
other  wares,  beside  the  numbers  of  ships  they  build. 

Crossing  the  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Oka,  the  Fair  Ground  is  reached.     It  is  a  broad 
space,  the  shape  of  a  triangle,  between  the  Oka  and  the  Volga  Rivers,  certain  to  be  dry 


2O  Cities  of  the   World. 

only  in  summer  time,  and  lined  on  both  shores  with  ten  miles  of  wharves,  sometimes 
piled  hundreds  of  feet  high  with  goods. 

There  are  three  annual  fairs  held  in  the  town  every  year.  The  first  two  are  of  small 
account  compared  to  the  third,  which  begins  the  13111  of  July  and  does  not  close  until 
the  yth  of  September.  This  is  by  far  the  largest  annual  fair  in  the  world. 

As  the  time  for  the  opening  draws  near  men  gather  at  the  city  from  every  part 
of  Europe,  Asia  and  northern  Africa.  A  woman  is  rarely  seen  at  the  Fair,  it  is 
said.  The  Fair  Ground  is  well  built,  upon  sewers  of  hewn  stone  ;  and  the  forty  miles  of 
streets  are  kept  clean  and  pure  by  the  watchful  police.  The  enormous  market  hall 
has  sixty  blocks  of  buildings  for  booths,  which  are  separated  into  more  than  twenty-five 
hundred  apartments  by  fire-proof  walls.  Usually  there  are  about  forty-five  thousand 
people  living  in  Lower  Novgorod  ;  but  during  the  Fair  the  population  is  eight  times 
its  regular  size.  So,  extra  churches  and  buildings  of  all  kinds  are  kept  for  the  visitors 
throughout  the  town.  The  rivers  are  so  crowded  with  boats  that  the  water  can  scarcely 
be  seen.  There  are  fully  fifty  thousand  people  living  on  the  water  during  the  Fair. 

The  governor  of  the  province  makes  his  home  in  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and  confu- 
sion from  the  day  the  Fair  opens  until  its  close.  All  around  are  showy  booths  and 
squares,  overloaded  with  goods  for  sale, — useful  and  ornamental,  and  all  to  be  had  at 
"  wonderful  bargains." 

Behind  the  booths  are  restaurants  and  the  little  tea-houses,  always  to  be  found  in 
Russian  towns.  The  tea-houses  are  full  of  small  tables  ;  and  from  morning  till  night 
there  are  merchants  and  their  customers  sitting  there,  making  bargains  over  cups  of  tea. 
One  sees  great  numbers  of  foreigners  here,  and  men  from  every  part  of  the  Empire. 

The  Russians  say  that  their  countrymen  are  not  divided  into  classes  ;  but  there  is 
a  difference  among  the  people  of  Russia  as  there  is,  according  to  circumstances,  in  every 
country. 

The  highest  class  in  Russia  are  the  nobles  and  landed  proprietors.  They  have 
usually  the  most  money,  and  if  they  do  not  serve  the  State,  live  upon  the  rents  and 
products  of  their  property.  They  used  to  own  serfs  or  slaves  ;  but  in  1861  all  the 
slaves  in  Russia  were  made  free,  and  now  the  proprietor's  former  slaves  are  his  tenants 
or  his  servants.  The  merchants  make  another  class,  and  are  the  larger  part  of  the 
visitors  at  the  Fair.  They  are  usually  well  educated,  live  in  towns,  and  some  of  them 
have  very  rich  homes.  The  greater  part  of  the  people  of  Russia  are  peasants.  They 
are  active,  work  hard,  and  are  healthy,  cheerful  and  kind.  The  peasant  always  has 
a  bushy  beard,  and  wears  a  round  hat,  and  a  coarse  coat  of  drugget,  reaching  to  the 
knee.  (This  coat  is  made  of  wool  and  skins  in  winter.)  His  trowsers  are  of  thick, 
coarse  linen,  and  instead  of  a  stocking,  the  Russian  peasant  wears  a  woolen  cloth  bound 
round  his  leg.  His  shoes  or  sandals  are  made  of  bark,  and  fastened  round  the  ankles 
with  strips  of  bark.  You  would  find  his  home  in  some  small  square  cottage,  which 


22  Cities  of  the   World. 

he  made  himself  of  whole  trees,  piled  one  on  another,  and  fastened  together  at  the  four 
corners.  The  gaps  are  filled  in  with  moss  ;  and  the  roof,  in  the  form  of  a  penthouse, 
is  covered  with  bark  of  trees  under  a  layer  of  turf  and  mold.  He  cut  out  his  windows 
and  those  very  small  doors  after  the  house  was  finished.  The  greatest  differences  that 
are  seen  in  the  Russian  people  are  marked  according  to  where  they  come  from  ;  for 
the  Empire  is  made  up  of  many  nations  unlike  each  other,  and  each  with  its  own 
customs  and  characteristics. 

The  police,  who  keep  close  watch  here  in  Novgorod  that  no  one  defile  the  streets, 
or  in  any  way  disturb  the  health  or  peace,  are  Cossacks. 

The  COSSACKS  are  natives  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Empire,  which  is  sometimes 
called  "  Little  Russia."  Their  wealth  is  mainly  in  horses  and  cattle  ;  but  their  bravery 
and  warlike  spirit  has  long  made  them  the  soldier-race  of  the  people.  They  are  famous 
horsemen,  and  can  stand  fatigue,  cold,  hunger  and  thirst  with  great  strength  and  courage. 
The  men  spend  most  of  their  time  away  from  home  in  military  duty  ;  so  the  strong  and 
handsome  Cossack  women  take  care  of  the  families  and  manage  the  villages,  which  are 
prosperous  and  enterprising,  surrounded  by  vineyards,  cornfields,  and  pastures  for  great 
herds  of  cattle.  Cossack  homes  are  described  as  clean  and  refined,  and  the  people  as 
intelligent  and  hospitable. 

The  TARTARS  are  another  people  of  southern  Russia.  They  once  claimed  a  large 
part  of  Central  Asia  ;  but  are  now  confined  to  Turkestan  and  the  countries  near  it. 
They,  too,  are  powerful  and  warlike  ;  but  are  also  fierce  and  roving  natures.  Tartars 
are  seldom  tall,  and  usually  thin.  Their  faces  are  small  and  fresh  looking.  A  Tartar 
has  a  small  mouth,  and  small,  dark,  lively  eyes.  His  shaved  head  is  covered  with  a 
leather  cap  over  which  is  a  red-crowned  bonnet  or  cap.  A  great  many  of  them  are 
seen  here.  The  poorer  men  have  an  inner  coat  of  a  sort  of  linen,  covered  by  a  coarse 
cloth  gown  ;  but  the  rich  Tartar  has  a  fine  outside  coat  of  cloth  over  his  inner  coat  of 
lustrous  silk.  They  bring  quantities  of  honey  with  them  ;  but  most  of  their  trade  is 
barter,  for  they  are  little  used  to  handling  money. 

From  western  Russia  are  seen  the  POLES,  many  of  whom  are  Jews.  They  too  raise 
large  quantities  of  bees  ;  but  send  most  of  the  honey  to  foreign  ports.  The  Polish  mer- 
chants at  Lower  Novgorod  do  a  great  business  in  wool,  cotton,  linen,  liquors,  oil,  vinegar, 
paper,  glass,  earthenware  and  other  things. 

Poland  was  once  an  independent  kingdom,  but  was  united  to  the  Empire  in  1864. 
The  country  people  raise  horses,  cattle,  pigs  and  sheep,  beside  their  bees.  Poland  is  very 
thickly  settled,  and  an  important  part  of  modern  Russia,  especially  in  manufactories. 

Talking  earnestly  with  a  Chinese  tea  merchant,  a  Finn  is  seen,  known  by  his  bearded 
face,  and  by  his  long  hair,  hanging  loose  under  a  felt  hat.  He  belongs  to  another 
important  race  of  Russia.  His  home  is  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Empire,  which 
took  Finland  from  Sweden  in  1809. 


Russian   Types. 


The  Finland  merchants  are  mostly  dressed  in  coarse  cloth  made  by  the  women  of 
the  families  ;  but,  as  this  is  a  holiday  time,  some  of  them  have  on  their  best  clothes,  which 
are  manufactured  cloth, 
finer  than  the  home-spun 
goods.-  Among  the  Finns 
here  many  wear  wooden 
shoes  ;  some  have  shoes 
that  are  made  of  skin,  and 
others  of  tree-bark  laced 
together.  They  all  wear 
a  leathern  girdle,  some  of 
them  are  unmanned,  in 
which  a  knife  is  stuck. 

Occasionally  a  Ger- 
man or  a  Scandinavian  is 
seen,  who  belongs  to  some 
of  the  Baltic  provinces. 
There  is  a  Siberian,  an 
Archangel  merchant, 
with  furs  for  sale ;  a 
Bukharian  with  turquoise 
and  other  beautiful  gems  ; 
Kalmuck  and  Kirghis, 
who  have  come  with  wild 
ponies  and  Siberian  iron  ; 
and  Persians  with  per- 
fume stands.  Merchants 
of  western  Europe  are 
selling  watches,  pipes, 
jewelry  ;  and  Orientals 
have  come  across  the  bor- 
der with  their  curiously- 
wrought  ornaments  and 
bric-a-brac. 

At  the  Fair  every  one  A  GROUP  OF  RUSSIANS. 

is  in  earnest.  The  faces  of  all  are  thoughtful  and  serious.  The  reason  is  because  most 
of  these  merchants  and  traders  and  bankers  count  on  this  annual  fair  for  their  fortunes. 
Some  of  them  come  from  so  great  a  distance  that  they  spend  nearly  all  the  year  going 
to  Lower  Novgorod  and  returning  home. 


24  Cities  of  the   World. 

Everything  is  very  systematically  arranged  in  the  market-hall  and  bazars,  accord- 
ing to  the  classes  of  goods  ;  but  on  the  outskirts,  monks,  jugglers,  beggars  and  venders, 
clad  in  all  sorts  of  garments,  and  babbling  in  all  tongues,  make  a  scene  of  noise  and 
confusion. 

The  Empire  is  divided  into  provinces  or  governments,  which  are  looked  after  by 
governors  appointed  by  the  Emperor.  There  are  few  towns,  in  Russia,  but  many 
villages.  The  villages  are  governed  according  to  the  commune. 

A  village,  or  COMMUNE,  is  something  like  a  large  family,  with  the  Village  Elder  at  the 
head  of  it,  and  the  Village  Assembly  to  regulate  it,  chosen  by  the  people.  All  the  people 
who  belong  to  a  certain  commune  are  responsible  alike  for  the  debts  and  taxes  of  the 
whole  village.  All  have  a  share  in  the  farm  and  pasture  land,  which  they  care  for  sep- 
arately, and  all  are  protected  from  losing  the  use  of  their  land.  They  must  all  pay  into 
the  common  treasury  a  certain  sum  of  money.  This  binds  the  people  of  a  commune 
very  much  together.  If  one  man  lets  his  business  run  down  and  gets  out  of  money,  all 
the  members  of  the  commune  can  complain,  because,  together,  they  must  pay  his  taxes. 
The  good  land  of  a  commune  belongs  to  the  community  in  common,  and  no  part  of  it  to 
any  one  member  ;  so  every  household  by  itself,  as  well  as  all  of  them  together,  is  respon- 
sible for  all  the  money  that  the  commune  has  to  pay  every  year  into  the  Imperial  Treasury. 
The  amount  is  supposed  to  be  set  according  to  the  number  of  men  and  boys  in  the 
commune. 

This  is  the  general  plan  of  the  system  of  village  government  in  Russia  called 
the  Mir,  or  Village  Community  ;  but  many  communes  follow  out  in  the  details, 
a  plan  for  themselves.  However  these  may  differ  in  various  parts  of  the  Empire, 
all  are  subject  to  one  great  power,  the  Emperor.  He  has  no  limit  to  his  will.  His 
Empire  is  a  despotism,  and  there  is  no  Congress  or  Parliament  to  question  or  control 
him.  Every  Russian  subject  knows  that  if  he  break  the  law,  the  Emperor  may 
put  him  to  death,  without  hearing  or  trial,  the  moment  his  crime  is  known.  But 
worse  than  death,  the  Russian  fears  the  punishment  of  being  banished  to  SIBERIA. 

Although  this  name  is  usually  given  to  all  of  Russia  in  Asia,  the  Russians 
themselves  only  use  it  for  the  northern  part.  Even  this  is  much  larger  than 
Europe,  and  has  as  many  people  living  in  it  as  all  of  the  Netherlands — nearly  four 
millions — more  than  one-half  of  which  are  exiles. 

Part  of  the  country  is  barren,  and  most  of  the  time  covered .  with  ice  and 
snow  ;  but  there  are  portions  rich  and  fertile  which  give  the  eastern  world  its  great  sup- 
ply of  grain,  and  afford  good  pasture  to  flocks  of  sheep  and  droves  of  horses, 
reindeer  and  cattle. 

But  the  exile  only  thinks  of  the  long,  dreary  marches,  carrying  his  chains  from  one 
post  to  another,  over  the  barren  country.  If  he  does  not  die  on  the  way  of  cold, 
hunger,  filth  or  abuse,  the  worst  of  criminals  finally  reaches  his  journey's  end  in 


26 


Cities  of  the   World. 


some  of  the  central  or  western  provinces.  Here,  he  is  put  to  work  for  life  in  one 
of  those  rich  mines  beneath  the  ice-bound  surface  of  dreary  Siberia,  to  get  out 
the  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  antimony,  iron  or  arsenic,  which  seems  to  be 
deposited  in  unlimited  quantities. 

If  he  is  not  one  of  the  blackest  of   the  criminals,  he   may  be   taken  to  a  less 
dismal   spot,  and   be  put  to   work   at  carving   or  making  into  beautiful   filigree,  the 


RUSSIAN    PENAL   COLONY. 

precious  metal  brought  to  the  light  by  his  brother  prisoner.  There  is  plenty  of  material 
for  all  kinds  of  such  work  ;  for,  beside  the  precious  metals,  Siberia  yields  topazes  and 
emeralds,  porphyry,  jasper  and  malachite,  which  are  made  by  cunning  hands  into  objects 
of  wonderful  beauty  and  art. 

There  is  still  another  class  of  Siberian  exiles.      Those  who  are  guilty  of  smaller 
crimes  are  taken  to  comfortable  places,  and  under  the  eye  of  the   police,  do    what 


28  Cities  of  the  World. 

they  please.     Most  of  them  are  trappers,  for  Russia  has  a  wealth   of   furred   animals 
in  her  north  country. 

A  great  deal  of  petroleum  and  salt  come  also  from  Siberia.  Salt  is  so  plentiful  that 
it  hardens  on  the  surface  of  some  of  the  lakes  in  summer,  so  that  men  and  even  horses 
cross,  as  if  it  were  ice.  There  is  scarcely  any  manufacturing  here,  no  large  cities,  and 
little  farming. 

The  native  Siberians  are  short,  yellow  complexioned,  and  have  deep  red  hair.  They 
are  a  wild  people  who  get  their  living  by  hunting  and  fishing.  Their  principal  wealth  is 
in  reindeer,  which  they  keep  to  draw  their  burdens.  One  man  sometimes  owns  a  herd 
of  two  hundred.  They  keep  no  other  animals.  The  people  dress  in  skin  garments 
that  cover  them  entirely,  head  and  feet.  Some  of  the  tribes  nearer  the  central  part  of 
Asia  are  more  cultivated  ;  but  it  is  usually  the  settlers,  not  the  natives,  who  till  the 
earth. 

The  great  yields  of  Russia  are  from  the  north  and  east ;  but  the  ports  and  cities  are 
in  Europe. 

The  second  great  port  on  the  European  side  of  the  Empire  is  Riga.  The  city 
stands  about  370  miles  from  St.  Petersburg,  on  the  river  Dwina,  eight  miles  from 
the  Gulf  of  Riga.  It  has  a  population  of  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  important  manufacturing  and  commercial  cities  of  the  Empire. 
St.  Peter's  Church,  the  Castle,  or  Dom,  and  many  fine  public  buildings  are  very  inter- 
esting. The  gloomy  "  Old  Town"  shows  traces  of  the  ancient  German  rule  ;  but  the 
new  quarters  are  handsome  and  extensive.  Riga's  busy  cotton  and  woolen  mills  are 
large  and  growing  ;  and,  besides  being  the  most  noted  of  all  Russian  towns  for  ship- 
building, it  is  in  a  good  position  to  have  a  large  trade  with  central  and  eastern  Europe. 
The  country  is  constantly  sending  in  for  shipment  great  quantities  of  flax,  timber,  hemp 
and  grain.  But  the  great  grain  port  of  Europe  is  Odessa.  It  has  about  two  hundred 
thousand  population,  which  is  some  less  than  San  Francisco,  California.  It  is  built 
on  a  table-land,  ending  in  bluffs  on  the  northwest  coast  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  is  described 
as  a  town  of  "  straight  streets  and  butter-colored  houses."  There  is  a  famous  Russian 
University  here,  and  among  the  fine  city  buildings  are  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Nicholas, 
the  Admiralty,  and  the  Custom  House.  A  promenade  is  along  the  face  of  the  cliffs, 
where  the  statue  of  the  benefactor  of  the  town,  the  Due  de  Richelieu  stands,  and  a 
broad  stairway  of  two  hundred  steps  leads  down  to  the  shore.  The  great  interests  of 
Odessa  are  commercial.  By  river  and  railroad  the  products  are  brought  from  the  interior 
of  the  country  to  be  shipped.  The  harbor  is  so  deep  that  even  the  largest  men-of-war 
can  come  close  to  the  shore,  which,  except  for  a  few  months  in  the  winter,  when  the  water 
is  frozen  over,  is  always  a  scene  of  loading  and  unloading  vessels.  Out  and  in  through 
the  Bosphorus  they  pass  between  this  port  of  Russia  and  the  cities  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean and  Atlantic. 


Russia. 


29 


Among  the  other  notable  cities  of  Russia  are  Warsaw,  a  large  manufacturing  town 
and  the  most  important  of  Poland  ;  Vladimir,  another  large  manufacturing  town  of  Tula, 
which  is  as  noted  for  its  cutlery  in  Russia  as  Sheffield  is  in  England.  In  Siberia  the 
largest  town  is  Irkutsk,  which  has  a  population  of  twenty-seven  thousand.  It  is  the 
great  center  of  Siberian  trade,  especially  in  tea,  and  stands  upon  the  principal  route 
between  Eastern  and  Western  Siberia  and  between  China  and  Russia. 


THE    ALEXANDER    COLUMN. 


ENGLAND. 


THE  largest  and  most  important  city  of  England,  indeed  of  the  world,  is  London. 
It  covers  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  square  miles,  nearly  three  times  the  size  of 
New  York  city,  and  contains  four  times  as  many,  people,  or  four  million  inhabitants. 
This  great  city  lies  on  the  rolling  ground  of  the  Thames  valley,  sixty  miles  from  the 
winding  river's  mouth,  on  both  sides  of  the  stream.  Its  greatest  length  is  thirteen  miles 
extending  east  and  west  in  the  direction  of  the  river,  whose  banks  are  walled  by  massive 
granite  dykes.  As  London  has  been  growing  since  the  third  century  it  has  come  to 
include  many  places  that  were  once  outlying  villages,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  name. 
The  larger  and  more  important  part  of  the  city  lies  north  of  the  river,  and  is  made  up 
of  two  divisions, — the  business,  money-making  "  City"  and  "  East  End,"  and  the  "  West 
End,"  with  its  homes,  parks,  and  places  of  amusement  ;  while  between  the  two,  in  the 
heart  of  the  town,  is  the  famous  old  law  quarter  called  the  "  Temple." 

For  many  miles  before  the  Thames  reaches  the  center  of  London  it  is  lined  with 
wharves,  warehouses,  and  immense  inclosed  docks.  The  broad  stream  is  crowded  with 
all  kinds  of  vessels — of  not  more  than  eight  hundred  tons  burden — bearing  cargoes 
from  every  nation  in  the  world.  This  is  the  Port  of  London,  from  which  the  commerce 
of  England  extends  all  over  the  globe.  Out  and  in  the  ships  are  constantly  sailing,  and 
the  work  of  loading  and  unloading  seems  never  to  cease.  From  London  alone  comes 
one-half  of  England's  customs-revenues,  while  one-quarter  of  the  whole  ship-tonnage  of 
the  kingdom  and  one-quarter  of  its  exports  are  centred  in  this  busy  scene.  The  Pool, 
the  great  rendezvous  for  coal  boats,  is  further  up  the  river  and  just  below  London 
Bridge,  the  oldest,  the  most  used,  and  the  most  famous  of  the  dozen  bridges  that  span 
the  Thames  as  it  runs  through  London  Town.  It  is  built  of  granite  and  has  cost  about  ten 
million  dollars.  Its  long  rows  of  lamp-posts  are  made  out  of  the  French  cannon  captured 
in  the  Peninsular  War.  But  Waterloo  Bridge  is  the  handsomest.  It  is  nearly  fourteen 
hundred  feet  long  and  so  high  that  it  commands  a  fine  view  of  some  of  the  greatest  sights 
of  London.  At  night  this  is  lighted  by  electricity.  Between  here  and  old  London 
Bridge  is  Blackfriars'  Bridge,  which.crosses  the  river  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  stands 


32  Cities  of  the  World. 

at  the  eastern  end  of  the  broadest  and  finest  of  the  river  walls,  the  Victoria  Embank- 
ment, which  is  a  favorite  walk,  stretching  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  to  Westminster 
Bridge.  The  Albert  Embankment,  the  finest  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  begins  at 


WATERLOO   BRIDGE,     LONDON. 

Vauxhall  bridge,  near  the  western  end  of  the  city,  and  extends  past  Lambeth  Palace  to 
Westminster  Bridge,  opposite  Westminster  Palace,  and  the  Parliament  Houses. 

Lambeth  Palace  has  been  for  six  hundred  years  the  London  residence  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  the  primate  of  England.  It  is  a  massive  old  pile  of  brick  and 
stone  which  has  been  the  scene  of  many  important  events  in  the  civil  and  church  history 
of  England.  It  is  entered  at  the  southern  end  by  the  old,  tower-guarded  Morton 
gate- way,  of  red  brick  and  stone  dressings,  which  was  built  in  1484.  It  is  said 
that  probably  no  other  piece  of  architecture  in  Europe  has  brought  so  much  of  beauty 
and  grandeur  as  safely  through  four  centuries  of  so  many  trials.  This  leads  to  the 
outer  courtyard — within  the  Palace  walls — along  the  right  side  of  which  is  the  Library 
and  Juxon's  Hall. 

The  body  of  the  Palace  is  beyond,  where,  at  the  north-western  corner,  are  the 
Guard  Room,  Portrait  Gallery,  Chapel — the  oldest  building  of  Lambeth — and  several 
other  rooms  and  towers,  the  outermost  of  which  are  the  Post  Room  and  the  Lollards' 
Tower,  a  massive,  square  keep  of  stone.  The  rest  of  the  Palace,  which  extends  toward 
the  eastward,  faces  the  northern  end  of  the  inner  courtyard,  and  is  the  princely  dwell- 
ing of  the  Archbishop.  Above  is  the  Medical  School,  and,  extending  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  feet  along  the  Albert  Embankment  to  Westminster  Bridge,  are  the  seven  great 
red  brick  buildings  of  St.  Thomas's  Hospital,  which  are  each  four  stories  high  and 
united  by  arcades  into  one  immense  institution,  where  over  sixty-six  thousand  patients 


London. 


33 


are  treated  every  year.     On  the  other  side  of  the  river,  directly  opposite,  are  the  Houses 
of  Parliament. 

This  magnificent  building,  close  to  the  water,  covers  about  eight  acres  of  ground  at 
the  head  of  the  Victoria  Embankment.  This  is  where  the  Lords  and  "  Commons " 
meet,  who  help  the  Queen  to  rule  the  country,  somewhat  as  our  Senate  and  Congress 
come  together  at  Washington.  It  is  built  of  stone  in  the  richest  late-gothic  style,  which 
is  also  called  "  Tudor"  or  "  Perpendicular"  architecture  ;  and  beside  the  Parliament 
Chambers,  include  official  dwellings  and  other  apartments,  numbering  eleven  hundred  in 
all,  with  eleven  open  courts  and 
one  hundred  staircases.  The  river 
front,  which  is  nine  hundred  and 
forty  feet  long,  is  adorned  with 
rich  decorations  and  statues  of  all 
the  sovereigns  of  England.  The 
Palace  has  three  towers,  the  lowest 
of  which  is  the  Middle  Tower, 
three  hundred  feet  high.  The 
square  Clock  Tower — or  St.  Ste- 
phen's Tower — which  stands  at  the 
north-western  corner,  contains 
"Big  Ben,"  the  famous  old  bell, 
which,  in  calm  weather,  is  heard 
over  the  larger  part  of  London.  It 
takes  half  a  day  to  wind  the 
striking  part  of  the  great  clock  in 
this  tower,  whose  dials  are  on  each 
of  the  four  sides  and  measure 
twenty-three  feet  in  diameter.  At 
the  southwestern  corner  is  Vic- 
toria Tower,  the  highest  and 
largest  of  the  three,  containing 
the  royal  entrance  through  which 
the  Queen  passes  when  she  visits  Parliament.  Within  Westminster  Palace,  as  without, 
all  is  handsome  and  imposing,  while  some  of  the  apartments  are  really  magnificent. 
Between  the  Victoria  Tower  and  the  House  of  Peers  lies  the  long  Royal  Victoria  Gallery, 
with  floors  richly  paved  in  mosaics,  ceilings  paneled  and  gilded,  and  the  long  side  walls 
covered  with  two  great  historic  paintings  in  fresco.  The  House  of  Peers  is  an  immense 
room  lying  beyond,  which  occupies  about  the  center  of  the  southern  half  of  the  Palace. 
It  is  probably  the  most  gorgeous  apartment  in  Westminster.  The  walls  and  ceilings  are 


HOUSES   OF    PARLIAMENT,     LONDON. 


34  Cities  of  the  World. 

handsomely  decorated,  and  in  the  twelve  beautiful  stained  glass  windows  are  the  por- 
traits of  the  kings  and  queens  of  England  since  the  Norman  Conquest.  At  night  the 
House  is  lighted  from  without  through  these  windows,  between  which  are  niches  rilled 
with  statues  of  the  Barons  who  secured  the  Magna  Charta  of  King  John.  The  floor  is 
occupied  by  more  than  four  hundred  red  benches,  seats  of  the  "members."  The  cele- 
brated woolsack  of  the  Lord  Chancellor — a  kind  of  cushioned  ottoman — standing  almost 
in  the  center,  is  in  front  of  the  magnificent  canopied  throne  of  the  Queen,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  hall.  On  either  side  of  this  are  the  thrones  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the 
late  Prince  Albert,  while  above  are  seats  for  foreign  ambassadors  and  other  distinguished 
visitors.  Opposite  the  throne,  at  the  north  end  of  the  chamber,  is  the  Bar,  where  com- 
munications to  the  Lords  are  delivered  and  law-suits  pleaded  ;  and  above  it  are  galleries 
for  reporters  and  strangers.  The  situation  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  about  the 
center  of  the  northern  half  of  Westminster  Palace,  corresponds  to  that  of  the  Peers  in 
the  southern  part.  The  two  halls  are  the  same  in  width,  but  the  Commons  is  neither  so 
long  nor  so  high  as  the  Lords'  ;  and,  although  very  handsome  with  its  oak  paneling  and 
stained  glass  windows,  it  is  but  plain  and  substantial  looking  as  compared  with  the  gor- 
geous decorations  of  the  other  House.  Midway  between  the  Houses  is  the  spacious 
eight-sided  Central  Hall,  which  stands  beneath  the  Central  Tower  in  the  middle  of  the 
building.  Skirting  its  floors  of  inlaid  pavements  is  the  inscription  in  Latin  :  "  Except 
the  Lord  keep  the  house,  their  labor  is  but  lost  that  build  it."  The  stone  vaulting,  sup- 
ported by  massive  and  richly  embossed  ribs,  is  decorated  with  Venetian  mosaics, 
many  statues  of  English  sovereigns  rest  in  niches  by  the  windows,  and  the  lofty  door- 
ways which  lead  in  four  directions  to  corridors  connecting  with  lobbies,  halls  and  courts 
belonging  to  and  surrounding  the  Houses.  The  Parliament  building  stands  upon  the 
site  of  the  old  Westminster  Palace,  which  from  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings  to  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  was  a  royal  residence.  In  1840  all  was  destroyed  except  West- 
minster Hall,  which  is  on  the  western  side  of  the  present  Palace.  This  is  now  used  as 
a  public  vestibule  to  the  Houses,  and  is  entered  from  the  northern  outer-court,  called 
New  Palace  Yard, — new  in  the  time  of  William  Rufus,  who  laid  it  out  when  in  1097  he 
built  this  great  hall  for  banquets,  as  the  first  step — which  was  also  his  last — toward  a 
new  royal  residence.  We  see  it  as  remodeled  and  enlarged  just  three  hundred  years 
later  by  Richard  II.,  who  built  upon  the  old  walls  a  magnificent  new  roof,  which 
hangs  in  mid-air  now  with  its  peak  ninety-two  feet  above  the  pavement,  as  solidly 
as  it  did  five  hundred  years  ago  ;  its  massive  timbers  of  oak  and  chestnut  interlocking 
each  other  in  a  great  gothic  arch,  which  is  still  a  wonder  to  architects  as  a  masterpiece 
of  beauty  and  skill.  From  St.  Stephen's  porch,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Great  Hall 
of  William  Rufus,  Old  Palace  Yard,  extending  to  Victoria  Tower,  lies  between  the 
western  fagade  of  the  Palace  and  the  extreme  end  of  Westminster  Abbey. 

This  grand  old  minster,  one  of  the  greatest  of  London's  fifteen  hundred  churches, 


London. 


35 


is  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  mostly  in  Gothic  style.  It  is  over  five  hundred  feet  long, 
and,  besides  the  great  nave,  choir  and  transept,  contains  nine  chapels  dedicated  to  differ- 
ent saints,  and  many  cloisters.  At  the  western  end  are  two  square  towers,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  high,  with  a  Gothic  window  between  and  a  Gothic  door  below. 


WESTMINSTER    ABBEY,    LONDON. 

Standing  at  this  end  of  the  nave  a  superb  view  of  the  ancient  building  may  be  had. 
From  the  stained  glass  windows  far  above,  a  beautiful  light  falls  on  the  lofty  arches,  the 
magnificent  colonnade  of  pillars  ending  in  the  chapel  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  hundreds 
of  feet  away.  A  wonder  of  architectural  beauty  is  on  every  side,  with  choir,  transepts, 
cloisters  and  chapels  filled  with  sculptures  and  bas-reliefs,  keeping  alive  the  illustrious 
names  of  England's  dead. 


36  Cities  of  the  World. 

An  iron  screen  separates  the  nave  from  the  choir,  with  its  great  organ  and  hand- 
some wood-work  ;  and  beyond  the  transepts  is  the  chapel  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  in 
which  stand  the  ancient  coronation  chairs  and  the  shrine  of  the  Confessor,  built  in  1269. 
In  front  of  the  altar  of  the  church  is  a  curious  old  mosaic  pavement ;  the  reredos  is  very 
elaborately  wrought  in  red  and  white  alabaster  ;  a  picture  of  the  Last  Supper,  in  fine 
Venetian  mosaics,  occupies  the  recess  above  the  table,  while  the  niches  are  filled  with 
large  figures  of  Moses,  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul  and  David.  The  Poets'  corner  is  in  the  south 
transept.  Here  tombs,  statues  and  monuments  keep  green  the  memory  of  the  greatest 
names  in  English  literature.  Beyond  the  shrine  of  Edward  the  Confessor  is  the  Chapel 
of  Henry  VII.,  the  most  beautiful  and  extensive  in  the  Abbey.  It  consists  of  nave  and 
aisles,  with  five  small  chapels  at  the  eastern  end.  The  Gothic  ceiling,  resting  on  lofty 
arches,  is  exquisitely  wrought  in  fan-tracery,  whose  rich  and  delicate  fret-work  seems,  in 
the  distance,  more  like  silver  filagree  than  stone  carving.  On  every  side  is  a  mass  of  rich 
ornamentation,  especially  of  roses,  since  it  was  the  marriage  of  Henry  VII.  (of  Lancaster) 
with  Elizabeth  (of  York)  which  brought  to  a  close  the  War  of  the  Roses,  and  founded 
the  House  of  Tudor.  The  carved  choir  stalls  on  either  side  are  appropriated  to  the 
Knights  of  the  Order  of  the  Bath.  In  this  chapel  alone  are  a  thousand  memorial  statues 
and  figures,  in  the  midst  of  which  are  those  of  the  founder  and  his  queen,  lying  upon 
richly-carved  tombs,  surrounded  by  an  elaborate  and  curiously-wrought  screen  of  brass. 
Beside  the  solemn  beauty  and  grandeur  of  this  edifice,  the  old  Abbey  is  a  wonder  in  age, 
having  been  begun  in  the  seventh  century,  and  was  the  scene  of  many  great  events.  All 
the  English  sovereigns  from  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor  have  been  crowned  here  • 
and  here,  too,  many  of  them  lie  buried. 

Not  far  from  the  Abbey  is  St.  James's  Park  and  the  Queen's  palace  of  Buckingham, 
which  stands  with  its  beautiful  grounds  at  the  head  of  the  Mall. 

The  building  forms  a  large  quadrangle,  or  hollow  square,  the  principal  front  facing  St. 
James's  Park.  A  portico  of  marble  columns  leads  from  a  spacious  court  to  the  rooms  of 
state,  the  finest  of  which  is  the  Throne  Room.  The  walls  are  gorgeously  hung  in  red  striped 
satin  and  gilt,  above  which  is  a  marble  frieze  around  the  vaulted  and  richly  decorated 
ceiling.  The  marble  staircase  is  magnificent  ;  its  ceiling  is  decorated  in  frescoes  of 
Morning,  Noon,  Evening  and  Night.  The  Picture  Gallery,  Dining  Room  and  Sculpture 
Gallery  contain  choice  pictures  by  famous  artists,  and  busts  and  statues  of  members  of 
the  royal  family  and  eminent  statesmen.  Queen  Victoria's  London  residence  is  in  the 
northern  end  of  the  palace,  looking  toward  Green  Park,  while  the  Palace  Garden  is  at 
the  west.  St.  James's  Park  is  a  long,  fan-shaped  green,  covering  thirty-six  acres  from 
Buckingham  to  Whitehall,  between  the  Mall,  a  broad,  tree-lined  avenue  running  north- 
east, and  Birdcage  Walk,  which,  on  the  south  side,  leads  to  Westminster  Bridge.  It  is 
handsomely  laid  out  with  trees,  gardens  and  walks,  while  across  the  long,  narrow  lake, 
extending  almost  the  full  length  of  the  park,  is  a  suspension  bridge  making  a  beautiful 


Cities  of  the    World. 


short  cut  from  the  most  fashionable  quarter  of   London  to  Westminster  Abbey  and  the 
Parliament  Houses. 

Next  to  St.  James's  Palace  is  Marlborough  House,  the  London  home  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  This  is  on  Pall  Mall,  a  short  distance  from  St.  James's  Square,  where  stand 
the  mansions  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Earl  of  Derby,  Bishop  of  London  and  other 
members  of  the  aristocracy  of  England.  This  is  West  End,  the  fashionable  part  of 
London,  the  center  of  which  is  Belgravia,  beyond  Buckingham  Palace  Garden. 

St.  James's  Palace,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Mall,  faces  the  center  of  the 
park  and  extends  back  to  the  Pall  Mall, 
a  street  filled  with  the  small  palaces  of 
the  famous  London  clubs.  St.  James's 
was  built  by  Henry  VIII.,  and  has  been 
a  royal  residence  ever  since.  Excepting 
the  old  brick  gateway  on  the  north-west, 
the  Chapel  Royal  and  the  ancient  Pres- 
ence Chamber,  the  present  buildings  are 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  now 
used  for  Court  purposes,  especially  for 
the  Queen's  levies,  the  royal  receptions 
at  which  gentlemen  are  presented  to 
Her  Majesty.  The  Drawing  Rooms,  or 
ladies'  receptions,  are  held  at  Bucking- 
ham. In  the  Chapel  Royal,  which  is 
regularly  used  for  church  services, 
Queen  Victoria  and  some  of  her  daugh- 
ters were  married. 

Whitehall  is  a  broad,  crescent- 
shaped  street  lying  between  the  large 
end  of  St.  James's  Park  and  the  Thames. 
It  is  lined  on  both  sides  with  public 
buildings  ;  in  the  center,  facing  the  open 
Parade,  overlooking  the  Park,  is  the 
celebrated  Horse  Guards ;  opposite, 

,,          Ar    ,       •        «,-    ,        ,  ST.    JAMES  S   PALACE    GATE. 

extending    to    the    Victoria    Embank- 
ment,   are  many    far-famed    institutions,    particularly    old    Scotland   Yard,    the    great 
police    headquarters    of    London.      At    the    head    of    Whitehall    is    Charing    Cross, 
where   nearly  all  the  omnibus   lines  of  the  West    End  meet,  for  these  great  coaches, 
which  are    found   in    all   parts    of    Londoj|/.^|  -<nTe   of   the   very  important   accom- 


c/f 

H 


4O  Cities  of  the  World. 

modations  for  the  people.  Beyond  is  Trafalgar  Square,  where  a  great  figure  of  Nelson 
looks  down  on  fountains  and  statues  in  the  midst  of  a  busy  throng  of  people  passing  to 
and  fro.  Fine  hotels  and  public  buildings  surround  the  Square,  while  from  it  streets 
large  and  small  run  in  every  direction,  filled  with  people  on  foot,  and  in  carriages,  omni- 
buses, or  the  two-wheeled  hansom  cabs,  of  which  there  are  something  like  fourteen 
thousand  used  in  London.  On  the  west  is  the  favorite  drive  to  the  parks  through 
the  Mall,  and  Pall  Mall,  with  its  aristocratic  mansions  ;  on  the  south  is  Whitehall  ;  on 
the  east  the  great  West  End  avenue  of  trade,  the  Strand,  stretches  away  to  the  city,  lined 
with  handsome  shops,  offices  and  places  of  amusement,  and  filled  with  a  constant  crowd 
of  people  ;  and  above  the  terrace  on  the  north  side  is  seen  the  long  Grecian  front  of  the 
National  Gallery,  with  its  Corinthian  portico  in  the  center.  The  exhibition  of  this 
gallery  consists  of  ten  hundred  and  fifty  pictures,  which  are  classified  in  many  rooms, 
according  to  the  various  schools  of  art.  Near  by  is  an  elegant  Moorish  building,  the 
Alhambra  Theater  ;  and  Leicester  Square,  once  a  famous  French  quarter  of  London. 
Westward,  beyond  Haymarket  (street)  is  the  head  of  Piccadilly  :  at  this  end  a  scene  of 
business  among  the  handsome  shops  ;  further  along  stand  the  Royal  Academy  buildings, 
while  at  the  western  end,  which  forms  the  upper  boundary  of  Green  Park,  are  fashion- 
able clubs  and  homes  of  wealthy  families,  extending  to  Hyde  Park  Corner,  where  Green 
Park  ends,  almost  at  a  point,  and  Hyde  Park,  the  finest  in  London,  begins.  Free  to  all, 
it  is  enjoyed  by  rich  and  poor.  Within  its  lofty  iron  railing  are  nearly  four  hundred 
acres — including  the  great  artificial  lake,  called  Serpentine  River — embellished  with 
trees  and  gardens,  monuments  and  statuary,  and  laid  out  in  delightful  walks  and  drives. 
One  of  the  sights  of  London  are  the  lines  of  handsome  carriages  and  magnificent  horses 
which  throng  the  Drive  of  Hyde  Park  every  clear  afternoon  during  the  "  season,"  when 
the  nobility  and  wealth,  beauty  and  elegance  of  English  society  is  out  for  the  air. 

The  famous  horseback  road,  called  Rotten  Row,  is  through  the  south  side  of  Hyde 
Park,  leading  to  the  Kensington  Gardens,  a  beautifully  laid-out  public  park  in  front  of 
Kensington  Palace,  the  birth-place  of  Queen  Victoria.  At  the  south  side  of  Kensington 
Gardens  is  the  Albert  Memorial,  a  magnificent  monument  built  by  the  English  people  in 
memory  of  their  Prince  and  their  Queen's  husband.  It  is  very  large,  ornamented  with 
many  statues,  and  almost  two  hundred  sculptured  portraits  of  great  artists,  authors 
and  musical  composers.  In  the  center  is  a  statue  of  Prince  Albert  under  a  splendid 
carved  canopy.  The  South  Kensington  Museum  is  south  of  the  Gardens,  in  the  part 
of  London  lying  near  the  river,  called  Chelsea.  Adjoining  is  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 
used  for  exhibitions  and  musical  festivals  ;  the  Horticultural  Gardens  and  also  many 
other  museums  and  libraries.  A  park  of  ten  acres  of  land  is  here  devoted  to  exhibi- 
tion buildings  and  art  and  industrial  schools,  which  are  both  among  the  best  in  the 
kingdom,  and  are  constantly  growing  larger  and  finer.  The  South  Kensington 
is  a  vast  set  of  fire-proof  buildings,  with  halls,  galleries  and  connecting  Museum 


London. 


corridors.  It  is  said  to 
be  more  perfectly  suited 
to  its  purpose  than  any 
other  building  in  En- 
gland. The  collections 
include  specimens  and 
gems  of  all  branches  of 
art,  arranged  for  study 
and  education,  as  well 
as  to  be  interesting  and 
give  pleasure  to  ordina- 
ry visitors.  Here  may 
be  seen  paintings,  sculp- 
tures and  tapestries,  em- 
broideries, metal  work 
and  pottery,  beside 
many  other  collections 
of  the  art-work  of  every 
age  and  nation.  The 
grounds  of  the  inclosed 
courts  are  adorned  with 
statues  and  fountains, 
and  laid  out  with  pleas- 
ant walks,  where  people 
love  to  come  and  enjoy 
the  bright  flowers,  music 
and  gay  companies  al- 
ways gathered  here  in 
pleasant  weather. 

Near  the  outskirts  of 
the  city,  and  some  dis- 
tance north  of  Hyde 
Park,  is  Regent's  Park, 
which  has  a  botanical 
garden,  the  finest  mena- 
gerie and  zoological 
garden  in  the  world ;  and 
many  delightful  walks 
and  places  of  interest. 


42  London. 

Besides  the  many  large  parks  which  almost  encircle  the  outskirts  of  London,  the  city- 
is  full  of  small  parks  and  squares  which  make  "  breathing  places  "  in  all  its  busy  quarters. 

About  midway  between  Regent's  Park  and  Waterloo  Bridge  is  the  British  Museum, 
an  immense  building  with  Ionic  columns  along  the  wings  and  portico  of  its  broad  front. 
In  the  entrance  hall  are  beautiful  pictures  and  statues,  and  carefully  arranged  through- 
out many  rooms  are  thousands  of  paintings  and  sculptures,  beside  great  collections  in 
natural  history  and  almost  every  other  branch  of  study.  In  the  center  of  the  block,  sur- 
rounded by  the  Museum,  is  the  New  Reading  Room,  a  great  circular  hall  covered  by  a 
large  dome  of  glass  and  iron.  It  will  accommodate  at  one  time  nearly  four  hundred  readers 
or  writers,  who  sit  in  numbered  seats  at  tables  which  radiate  from  the  center  of  the  room 
like  spokes  of  a  wheel.  The  library  of  the  British  Museum  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
finest  in  the  world.  Some  distance  to  the  eastward,  occupying  about  the  center  of  Lon- 
don, is  the  old  and  famous  Law  Quarter,  from  above  High  Holborn  (street)  to  the 
Thames.  Here  are  the  celebrated  law  colleges  of  Gray's  Inn,  Lincoln's  Inn,  Furnival's 
and  many  others,  where  some  of  England's  greatest  statesmen  have  spent  their  study  days  ; 
here  are  the  new  Courts  of  Justice,  Fetter  Lane,  Chancery  Lane,  and  other 
streets  far-farned  among  barristers  and  solicitors.  Beyond  the  Strand  and  Fleet 
street  are  the  great  law  schools  and  other  buildings  of  the  temple,  on  the  Vic- 
toria Embankment.  Eastward  from  here  is  the  City.  Up  busy  Fleet  street  and  Ludgate 
Hill,  stands  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Paul's,  which  was  built  in  1643.  A  church  has  always 
stood  on  this  ground  since  the  time  of  Ethelbert  (A.  D.  610),  although  several  times 
burned  down.  St.  Paul's  was  designed  by  the  great  English  architect,  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  who  also  planned  many  of  the  most  noted  buildings  in  England,  including  the 
London  Custom  House,  Temple  Bar,  Buckingham,  Marlborough  and  one  of  the  Towers 
of  Westminster  Abbey.  St.  Paul's  is  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  five  hundred  feet 
long,  with  arms  half  as  wide,  and  stands  in  the  highest  part  of  London.  It  is  a  great, 
massive  building,  crowned  by  one  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  domes  in  the  world. 
In  the  Whispering  Gallery  a  slight  sound  made  near  the  wall  on  one  side  may  be  heard 
distinctly  by  an  ear  near  the  wall  over  a  hundred  feet  away.  Outside  the  dome  are  the 
Stone  Gallery,  and  the  Golden  Gallery  above,  from  which  the  streets  of  London  look 
like  a  Lilliputian  world.  The  monuments  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 
Lord  Nelson,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  many  other  great  men,  mostly  admirals  and 
generals,  have  been  placed  in  St.  Paul's. 

If  you  go  along  famous  old  Cheapside,  one  of  the  great  shop-lined  streets  of 
the  City,  leading  from  St.  Paul's,  nearly  opposite  the  Mansion  House  (which  is  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London)  you  can  see  the  great  Bank  of  England. 
Excepting  the  handsome  north-west  corner,  it  is  a  plain-looking  building  which  covers 
about  four  acres,  and  lighted  from  inner  courts.  This  Bank  is  the  most  important 
in  the  world.  Besides  its  own  immense  business  it  manages  the  debt  of  the  Government 


44 


Cities  of  the  World. 


for  which  the  Bank  re- 
ceives a  great  deal  of 
money.  On  every  side 
it  is  surrounded  by  build- 
ings, filled  with  the  of- 
fices of  brokers,  stock- 
jobbers and  men  of  all 
money-handling  b  u  s  i  - 
nesses.  Close  by  is  the 
Royal  Exchange, 
hemmed  in  by  shops  on 
the  outside,  but  built 
with  a  handsome  inner 
court,  surrounded  by  col- 
onnades ;  a  statue  of 
Queen  Victoria  stands  in 
the  center,  while  others 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
Charles  I.  occupy  cor- 
ners. The  other  Ex- 
changes are  further  to 
the  eastward,  and  to- 
ward the  Thames. 
On  the  bank  of  the 
Pool,  beyond  London 
Bridge,  stands  the  fam- 
ous Tower  of  London. 

This  old  fortress, 
or  castle,  was  begun  by 
William  the  Conqueror  ; 
and  Henry  III.  who 
often  lived  here,  built 
the  larger  part  of  what 

nQW     ^^      jt 


WESTERN   TOWER,    ST.    PAULS,     LONDON. 

thirteen  acres  of  ground,  surrounded  by  a  moat,  inside  of  which  is  a  double  line  of  walls 
and  towers.  These  inclose  a  ring  of  buildings  made  up  of  chambers  and  towers  for 
barracks  and  military  stores,  the  great,  square  White  Tower  being  in  the  center.  For 
many  years  the  Tower  of  London  has  been  used  to  imprison  people  accused  of  crimes 
against  the  sovereign  or  the  government.  Now-a-days  besides  keeping  the  scepter,  crown, 


46 


Cities  of  the   World. 


and  other  Royal  ornaments,  it  is  principally  used  as  an  arsenal  and  barracks,  and  for 
a  very  fine  collection  of  ancient  arms  and  armor.  Every  gate,  room  and  corridor  is  full 
of  historic  interest  ;  each  of  the  Twelve  Towers  of  the  Inner  Ward  has  its  story,  and 
many  have  the  chapel  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  Traitor's  Gate,  leading  to  the  Tower  Hill, 
beyond  the  moat:  "  The  history  of  the  Tower  of  London  is  the  history  of  England." 
Liverpool,  lying  on  the  hill-side  and  bristling  with  countless  smoke-emitting  chim- 
neys, b«yond  a  wilderness  of  black  rigging,  has  been  many  a  visitor's  first  view  of  an 


PRINCE  S   LANDING,    LIVERPOOL. 

English  city.  Sailing  up  the  Mersey  for  miles  before  one  reaches  the  town,  he  sees  if 
there  happens  to  be  no  fog,  pleasant  suburbs  on  both  banks  of  the  river.  On  the  right, 
New  Brighton  gradually  becomes  Birkenhead  ;  and  on  the  east  side  after  leaving 
Waterloo,  the  ship  sails  on  to  the  great  port  of  Liverpool,  past  miles  of  granite  wall, 
behind  which  are  eighteen  miles  of  quay-margin,  crowded  with  shipping.  These  docks 
are  five  miles  long,  and  one  of  the  "lions"  of  Britain.  The  tide  is  strong  enough  here 
to  injure  vessels,  lying  in  the  river  ;  so  forty  great  docks  were  built,  all  joined  together, 
and  surrounded  by  strong  stone  walls,  in  which  are  immense  flood-gates,  only  opened  to 
let  vessels  pass  at  high  tide,  thus  keeping  the  docks  always  filled  with  the  same  height 


THE    TOWER    OF    LONDON. 


48  Cities  of  the  World. 

of  water.  The  river  is  filled  with  craft,  especially  ocean  steamers.  The  steam-tugs  and 
"  side- wheelers  "  plying  between  the  docks  and  wharves  on  the  two  sides  of  the  river,  (for 
Birkenhead  is  like  a  part  of  Liverpool),  are  very  different  from  the  ferry  boats  about 
New  York.  When  they  reach  the  shore,  they  do  not  fit  into  a  slip,  but  draw  up  along 
side  a  large  floating  platform,  which  is  attached  to  the  top  of  the  pier  by  gang-plank 
bridges. 


STRAND    STREET,    LIVERPOOL. 

Liverpool  is  the  home  of  nearly  six  hundred  thousand  people,  more  than  live  in  Chicago, 
Illinois.  It  was  in  existence  before  the  Normans  conquered  England,  but  did  not  become 
of  any  importance  until  during  the  last  century.  It  is  now  the  second  city  of  England, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  commercial  centers  in  the  world.  Sloping  toward  the  river,  it  is 
handsomely  built  up,  for  the  most  part  in  soft  yellow  and  gray  sandstone,  trimmed 
with  blue  or  red  granite.  Many  of  the  streets  are  short,  steep  and  irregular,  while  others, 
fine  and  broad,  run  in  every  direction.  Near  the  river  it  seems  all  made  up  of  grim,  dull 
warehouses,  some  of  which  are  ten  stories  high.  A  few  blocks  away  is  the  business 
center  of  the  town,  which  is  also  the  handsomest  part,  for  "  in  Liverpool  Trade  is  enthroned, 
with  Cotton  as  prime  minister."  Between  ten  o'clock  and  three  there  is  no  busier  scene 


Liverpool. 


49 


in  town  than  around  the  statue  of  Nelson  in  the  center  of  the  Flags,  the.  paved  square 
inclosed  on  three  sides  of  the  Exchange  and  Town  Hall.  These  buildings  cover  two 
acres  of  land,  and  are  finely  built  of  pale,  soft  stone,  in  what  is  called  the  French  Renais- 
sance style.  Of  the  interior  the  great  News  Room,  with  its  splendid  decorations  and 
stained  glass  dome  in  the  center,  is  the  most  beautiful.  Dale  street,  with  its  magnificent 
new  public  offices,  leads  eastward  from  the  Exchange  to  the  most  notable  building  in  the 
city,  St.  George's  Hall.  This  stands  on  Lime  street,  which  is  like  a  great  open  square, 
occupying  about  the  center  of  the  town.  The  appearance  of  St.  George's  Hall  is 
massive,  complete  and  beautiful.  The  southern  portico  stands  above  a  flight  of 
broad  steps,  with  its  colonnade  of  fluted  columns  and  richly-sculptured  pediment.  Its 
sides  are  five  hundred  feet  long ;  and  in  front  of  the  eastern  portico,  also  colonnaded, 


THE    BROWN    FREE    LIBRARY    AND    MUSEUM,    LIVERPOOL. 

ire  horseback  statues  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert,  from  which  an  immense  stone 
staircase  leads  to  the  ground.  The  interior  is  occupied  by  many  court  rooms  and 
issembly  halls,  the  largest  being  the  grand  hall,  used  'for  banquets  and  other  festivities. 
Fhis  contains  a  fine  organ  and  pieces  of  statuary  ;  it  is  magnificent  in  itself,  especially 
:he  arched  ceiling,  which  is  richly  decorated  and  supported  by  two  rows  of  polished 
granite  columns.  Around  St.  George's  Hall  are  gathered  other  handsome  buildings:  the 
Free  Library,  with  thousands  of  books ;  the  Museum,  containing  an  aquarium  and  very 
nteresting  and  valuable  collections  in  curiosities  and  specimens  of  natural  history,  and 
:he  free  school  of  science  connected  with  them.  The  New  Reading  Room  is  built  in 
;he  form  of  a  rotunda  and  surrounded  by  a  circular  row  of  high  columns,  and  is  next  to 
;he  Art  Gallery,  which  has  a  fine  exhibition  of  paintings  by  great  artists.  Other  places 
Df  importance  and  interest  stand  on  the  streets  surrounding  and  leading  from  Lime  street. 
Handsome  stores  and  bright  crowds  are  seen  in  Castle  street,  Lord  street  and  Bold  street, 
icar  by,  while  beyond  are  nothing  but  houses.  Here  are  many  fine  open  squares 
surrounded  by  beautiful  homes,  and  scarcely  a  trace  of  likeness  to  the  lower  part  of  the 


50  Cities  of  the  World. 

city  is  seen.  There  are  four  parks  on  the  outskirts,  which  contain  gentlemen's  man- 
sions surrounded  by  beautiful  grounds.  The  parks  are  inclosed  by  iron  fences,  but 
people  are  free  to  walk  or  drive  in  through  the  gates.  Sefton  Park  and  the  Zoological 
Gardens  are  the  most  interesting  to  visit. 

Four  days  in  the  week  are  market  days  in  Liverpool  when  the  people  from  the 
country  come  in  great  numbers  with  produce  from  their  farms,  with  cattle  and  horses. 
Almost  every  kind  of  trade  and  manufactory  is  carried  on  in  the  busy  city.  The  ship- 
building yards  are  large  and  there  are  foundries  and  factories  for  nearly  every  thing 


PERCH    ROCK    LIGHT,     LIVERPOOL. 

wanted  on  ship-board,  beside  extensive  works  in  many  other  articles.  Railroads  running 
through  the  city  are  in  tunnels  under  the  houses,  or  upon  great  arches  above  the  roofs. 
Manchester  is  the  largest-manufacturing  town  in  the  kingdom.  Salford  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river  Irwell,  is  connected  with  it  by  many  bridges,  and  is  considered  a 
part  of  the  city.  There  are  about  four  hundred  thousand  people  in  Manchester,  which 
makes  it  next  in  size  to  Liverpool.  It  lies  about  thirty  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the 
great  sea-port  town,  and  is  connected  with  it  by  railroads  and  the  famous  Bridgewater 
Canal.  Many  of  the  streets  of  this  very  old  city  have  been  made  large  and  handsome  ; 
and  in  public  improvements  Manchester  has  led  all  the  towns  of  England.  It  has  fine 
water  works  and  city  institutions,  excellent  public  libraries,  museums  ;  and  among  the 
notable  buildings  are  some  warehouses  as  handsome  as  palaces.  Most  of  the  great 
buildings  are  in  what  is  called  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture.  The  Assize  Court  is 
said  to  be  one  of  the  best  built  structures  in  the  world.  It  is  very  large,  stands  so  as  to 
look  well,  and  is  composed  of  various  colored  and  polished  granites.  The  wealth  of 
decoration  upon  this  Court  has  not  only  beauty  but  "a  root  in  history."  There  is  a 
grand  hall  inside,  one  hundred  feet  high,  fifty  feet  wide  and  seventy-five  feet  in  length. 
The  roof  is  open  timber,  with  many  beautiful  designs  in  its  arrangement,  and  delicate 


52  Cities  of  the   World. 

carved  tracery.  A  stained  glass  window  at  the  end  of  the  hall  pictures  the  history  of  the 
Magna  Charta.  There  are  a  great  many  churches  in  Manchester  ;  the  finest  and  largest  is- 
the  cathedral,  called  the  "  Old  Church  ;"  and  among  the  most  noted  monuments  standing 
in  some  of  the  city  squares  are  the  Prince  Albert  Memorial,  in  Albert  Square,  a  bronze 
statue  of  Richard  Cobden,  the  English  "  Apostle  of  Free  Trade,"  in  St.  Ann's  Square  ; 
and  Oliver  Cromwell's  statue,  at  the  foot  of  Victoria  street.  There  are  also  schools,, 
colleges,  and  universities  in  the  city  ;  but  other  towns  of  England  are  famous  for  educa- 


THE    ASSIZE   COURTS,    MANCHESTER. 

tion,  while  Manchester  is  known  above  all  others  in  every  kind  of  cotton  industry,  while 
it  also  has  large  mills  for  making  silk,  worsted,  cloth,  glass,  paper,  and  other  things. 

Birmingham,  which  stands  nearer  to  the  center  of  England  than  any  other  large 
city,  has  about  as  many  people  in  it  as  Manchester,  or  as  Boston,  Massachusetts.  It 
stands  on  rolling  ground,  on  the  east  side  of  three  hills,  by  the  Rea  and  Tame  rivers  ; 
so  it  is  bountifully  supplied  with  water,  and  well  drained,  too,  by  nature.  It  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  old  town,  which  is  crowded  with  work-shops  and  factories,  and  the 
new,  which  is  more  open,  and  has  some  fine  buildings.  There  is  scarcely  a  city  of 
England  with  a  more  interesting  history  than  Birmingham.  It  has  been  an  important 
manufacturing  town  for  centuries.  When  Charles  II.  came  back  from  France  to  take 
his  throne  again,  he  brought  a  fashionable  rage  for  metal  ornaments,  which  Birmingham 


54 


Cities  of  the  World. 


briskly  began  to  supply,  and  won  for  itself  the  name  of  the  "toy  shop  of  Europe." 
People  then  called  it  "  Brummagem  "  instead  of  Birmingham,  and  before  long  any 
worthless  things  with  a  glittering  outside,  especially  false  jewelry  and  ornaments, 
were  called  "  Brummagem  ware." 

There  are  great  iron  and  coal  mines  near  by  ;  but  no  use  was  made  of  these  until 
after  James  Watt  found  out  how  to  make  steam  engines,  and,  with  Matthew  Boulton,  set 


THE    ROYAL   EXCHANGE,    MANCHESTER. 

up  his  great  Soho  Works  near  the  town.  •  Since  then  Birmingham  has  been  famous  for 
making  steam  engines,  hydraulic  presses,  and  almost  every  kind  of  hardware  and 
machinery,  including  swords,  which,  in  1643,  it  not  only  supplied,  but  also  used  to  good 
purpose  on  the  side  of  Parliament  against  Prince  Rupert  and  his  lancers  ;  and  during 
the  Crimean  war  every  week  this  city  sent  three  thousand  muskets  to  the  Government. 
There  are  many  famous  events  and  names  in  English  history  connected  with  the  town, 
of  which  the  visitor  is  reminded  by  the  statues  and  monuments  he  sees  as  he  goes  about. 


Birmingham. 


55 


Some  of  the  public  buildings  are  very  handsome  ;  and  the  great  Town  Hall,  which  has  a 
magnificent  organ,  is  large  enough  to  hold  sixty  thousand  people,  who  come  to  the  grand 
musical  festival  held  here  once  every  three  years. 

Birmingham  supplies  all  England,  some  of  Europe,  and  even  America,  with  large 
quantities  of  first-class  fire-arms,  ammunition,  swords,  metal  ornaments,  toys,  jewelry, 
buttons,  buckles,  lamps,  pins,  steel-pens,  tools,  locks,  bedsteads,  saddlery,  steam  engines, 
and  all  sorts  of  machinery.  The  mint  strikes  more  than  eighty  thousand  copper  coins 


KING    EDWARD    SCHOOL,    BIRMINGHAM. 

every  day.  There  a-re  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  a  cathedral,  charitable 
institutions,  schools,  colleges,  institutes,  free  libraries,  a  botanic  garden,  an  art.  gallery, 
and  four  public  parks  in  the  famous  old  town. 

The  great  linen  and  woolen  industries  of  England  are  centred  at  Leeds.  It  stands 
about  forty  miles  from  Manchester,  keeping  on  in  the  same  northeasterly  direction  from 
Liverpool.  The  city  holds  nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  about  twice 
as  many  as  Buffalo,  New  York.  Some  of  the  largest  tanneries  in  the  kingdom  are  here. 
So  besides  its  famous  linen  and  woolen  trade,  Leeds  manufactures  boots  and  shoes  ;  and 
also  worsteds,  silk,  iron,  glass,  paper,  tobacco,  oil,  earthenware,  and  other  things.  There 
are  many  fine  buildings  and  churches  in  and  about  the  city,  of  which  St.  Peter's  is  the 
greatest.  It  is  very  large,  and  the  tower,  a  hundred  and  forty  feet  high,  contains  a  peal 


56  Cities  of  the  World. 

of  thirteen  bells.  The  inside  is  very  interesting  with  its  fine  statues,  the  monument  in 
memory  of  the  men  of  Leeds  who  fell  in  the  Crimean  War,  and  many  beautiful  stained 
glass  windows.  Less  grand,  but  more  interesting  still,  is  old  St.  John's,  which  has  not 
been  changed  since  it  was  built  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  About  three  miles 


TOWN    HALL,    BIRMINGHAM. 

from  the  town  are  the  fine  old  ruins  of  Kirkstall  Abbey,  which  was  built  in  the  twelfth 
century.  Roundelay  Park  is  a  handsome  public  pleasure  ground  about  two  miles  from 
the  city.  The  notable  buildings  of  Leeds  are  the  Exchanges,  especially  the  Corn 
Exchange,  which  is  a  handsome  oval  building,  Institutes,  Hospitals,  the  Philosophic 
Hall  and  Museum,  the  Bank,  and  Post  Office,  beside  the  great  Town  Hall,  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  England,  with  a  tower  as  high  as  those  of  Westminster  Abbey.  It  is 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  two  hundred  broad,  covering  five  thousand  six 
hundred  square  yards,  for  it  must  be  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  people  who 
come  from  far  and  near  to  the  great  festival.  A  noble  statue  of  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington stands  in  front  of  the  Hall,  and  an  immense  one  of  the  Queen  is  in  the  vesti- 
bule. Other  statues  and  decorations  make  the  inside  very  beautiful,  where  also  there 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  powerful  organs  in  Europe. 

Among  the  important  manufacturing  towns    of  England  is  busy,  smoky  Sheffield, 


Cities  of  the  World. 


famous  for  cutlery.  It  lies  south  of  Leeds  and  west  of  Liverpool,  in  the  central  part  of 
the  country.  It  has  about  three  hundred  thousand  people,  who  are  mostly  connected 
with  the  many  busy  mills  for  manufacturing  all  kinds  of  iron  and  steel  implements. 
Sheffield  not  only  makes  a  great  deal  of  cutlery,  but  some  of  the  best  in  the  world.  It 
supplied  all  the  United  States  until  we  began  to  make  our  own. 

Bristol,  which  is    in  the  southwestern   part    of   the  Kingdom,   about   eight  miles 
from   the   mouth  of   the  British  Channel,  is  a  little   smaller  than  New  Orleans,    with 

two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
people  living  in  it.  It  is  a  noted  center 
for  foreign  trade,  chiefly  with  America, 
Russia,  France,  Portugal  and  the 
Mediterranean.  Bristol  has  many  fine 
buildings,  and  some  very  old  ones,  one 
of  which  is  the  Temple  with  a  lean- 
ing tower. 

The  finest  worsteds  in  England  are 
made  at  Bradford,  not  far  west  of 
Leeds.  This  town  is  the  great  whole- 
sale market  in  the 
worsted  and  alpaca 
trade.  It  is  about 
one-quarter  larger 
than  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  with  nearly 
two  hundred  thou- 
sand people.  The 
famous  Saltaire  al- 
paca and  mohair 
mills  are  here, 
which  cover  more 
than  six  acres,  on 
the  Aire  River, 
and  are  said  to  be 

the  most  splendid  set  of  factories  in  England.  Bradford  also  has  large  cotton  mills 
and  foundries,  besides  manufactories  for  machinery,  combs,  and  other  things,  and 
Lister's  silk  mills,  which  are  the  largest  in  England.  With  all  its  busy  cares  it  has 
become  noted  for  liberality  and  enterprise  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

Hull,  on  the  Humber  River  near  the  North   Sea,  is  the  great  eastern   port  of  the 
north  of  England.     It  is  a  little  smaller  than  Bradford,  but  has  an  immense   shipping 


TOWN    HALL,    BRADFORD. 


Hull  and  Newcastle. 


59 


business,  and  unusually  fine  docks.  There  are  a  number  of  factories  in  the  town 
chiefly  to  supply  the  shipping  wants.  The  Holy  Trinity  is  a  beautiful  Gothic 
church,  whose  transept  is  the  oldest  brick  building  in  England.  There  is  a  training 
school  for  sailors  in  Trinity  House  School,  and  among  the  few  artistic  beauties 
of  the  city  are  an  equestrian  statue  of  William  III.,  and  a  statue  of  Wilberforcc. 

The  largest  town  in  the  north  of  England  is  Newcastle,  so  named  long  ago  when 
a  castle  was  begun  there  by  Robert,  the  son  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  finished  by 
William  Rufus.  The  town  has  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  and  is 
not  much  smaller  than  Hull.  It  is  especially  known  from  its  great  trade  in  coal,  which 

is  very  large,  and  began  as 
long  ago  as  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  Newcastle  also 
supplies  English  com- 
merce with  a  great  many 
ships  and  iron  vessels,  be- 
sides making  glass,  loco- 
motives, railway  carriages, 
iron  -  ware,  paper,  glue, 
Armstrong  cannon  and 
other  things.  The  old 
town  was  once  held  by  the 
Romans  ;  and  beside  the 
fine  ruins  of  Henry  II. 's 
castle,  the  visitors  find  in 
it  a  great  deal  that  is 
wonderful,  beautiful,  and 
of  historic  interest. 

Although  every  town  of 
any  size  in  England  has 
good  schools,  and  many 
of  them,  colleges  and  uni- 
versities besides,  the  only  business  of  several  of  the  famous  towns  of  the  Kingdom 
is  education. 

There  are  school  towns  and  university  towns.  The  most  famous  of  the  school 
towns  are  Eton  and  Rugby.  Eton  is  on  the  Thames,  opposite  Windsor  Castle,  which  is 
about  twenty  miles  from  London.  This  little  town,  known  all  over  the  world,  has  only 
one  well  paved  street,  and  scarcely  any  business.  It  was  founded  in  1440  by  Henry  VI., 
and  has  nearly  a  thousand  students  every  year,  to  seventy  of  whom,  called  King's 
Scholars,  the  Government  gives  board  and  teaching  free. 


SCHOOL    DAYS    AT    ETON. 


6o 


Cities  of  the  World. 


Almost  as  well  known,  is  Rugby,  which  is  upon  the  Avon,  about  eighty  miles  from 
London.  This  was  started  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  after  Eton,  by  Law- 
rence Sheriff,  a  London  shop-keeper.  This  has  also  about  a  thousand  boys,  who  would 
tell  you  that  one  of  the  best  things  about  Rugby  is  the  'leven-acre  foot-ball  and  cricket 
".round. 


BRIDGE,    ST.    JOHN  S   COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE. 

Other  famous  preparatory  schools  of  England  are  at  Westminster,  Harrow  and 
London,  which  send  graduates  every  year  to  the  great  universities,  especially  Oxford  and 
Cambridge. 

In  the  midst  of  rich  and  wooded  meadows  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Upper  Thames, 
the  spires,  towers,  and  domes  of  Oxford  rise.  This  old  town,  about  fifty  miles  north- 
west of  London,  was  standing  in  the  eighth  century.  It  has  now  about  forty  thousand 
people  (the  size  of  Camden,  New  Jersey),  and  is  full  of  historic  interest  even  outside  of 


Oxford  and  Cambridge. 


61 


the  University,  which  takes  up  most  of  the  town  in  twenty  Colleges  and  five  Halls. 
The  oldest  College,  "University"  or  *'  Baliol,"  was  built  in  the  latter  part  of  1200; 
fourteen  of  the  buildings  were  raised  before  the  Reformation,  which  was  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  is  said  that  High  Street,  which  is  about  one  thousand  yards  long,  has  the 
greatest  number  of  noble  buildings  of  any  street  of  its  size  in  Europe.  Besides  the 
University  buildings,  Oxford  has  fine  halls,  hospitals,  museums,  laboratories,  and  chapels  ; 
a  printing  house,  called  the  Clarendon  Press,  one  of  the  finest  libraries  in  Europe,  and 
the  Botanic  Gardens  near  the  Cherwell  River. 

The  city  of  Cambridge  stands  by  the  River  Cam,  about  fifty  miles  north  of  London. 
It  has  about  as  many  people  as  Denver,  Colorado,  or  thirty-five  thousand.  The  town  char- 
ter was  granted  by  King  John  in  1200  ;  but  long  before  that  time,  scholars,  or  "clercks," 


SENATE    HOUSE,    CAMBRIDGE. 

(as  the  people  who  could  read  and  write  were  called),  used  to  gather  here  to  study. 
They  made  up  a  society  of  students  after  a  while.  Then  different  societies  were  formed, 
for  different  branches  of  study,  and  in  this  way  the  college  system  of  education  began. 
The  societies  of  Cambridge  were  given  Royal  support  in  the  latter  part  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  One  at  a  time,  seventeen  different  colleges  were  founded,  mostly  by  Kings 
or  members  of  the  Royal  families.  King's  College,  the  most  imposing  of  all,  was  built  by 
HenryVL,  and  Trinity  College,  by  Henry  VIII.,  who  also  set  up  a  number  of  professorships 
in  the  University.  Among  other  noted  buildings  in  Cambridge  are  the  Senate  House, 
where  the  examinations  are  held,  and  all  the  public  business  of  the  University  done  ; 
splendid  libraries,  museum,  picture  galleries,  botanic  gardens,  and  a  very  fine  observa- 
tory. There  are  usually  about  two  thousand  students  at  the  University,  besides  many 
graduates  who  live  here. 


FRANCE. 


BRILLIANT,  beautiful  Paris,  the  pride  of  the  French,  the  delight  of  travelers,  lies 
like  some  splendid  gem  on  a  fair  and  sunny  plateau  in  the  center  of  northern 
France.     Around  are  low  hills,   on  whose  slopes  are  the  gardens  of  the  town  flower 
dealers,  while  the  blue  waters  of  the  Seine  make  a  bold  curve  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
which  they  enter  at  the  south-east  and  leave  at  the  south-west. 


OLD    PARIS. 

The  French  capital  is  a  walled  city,  covering  nearly  thirty  square  miles.  Its  greatest 
length  is  east  and  west,  although  the  moat  and'  towers  of  its  fortifications  almost  describe 
a  circle  in  surrounding  the  town.  Within  these  defenses  is  one  of  the  great  boulevards, 
for  which  Paris  is  so  famous.  It  completely  encircles  the  city,  and  is  called  the  Military 
street,  although  every  section  of  it  has  its  own  name.  Another  set  of  boulevards  forms 


64 


Cities  of  the  World. 


an  inner  circle  nearer  the  center  of  the  city.  These  were  built  in  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe,  where  the  old  city  ramparts  once  stood,  when  the  walls  of  Paris  inclosed  about 
one-fourth  of  the  present  space.  Of  these  the  semi-circle  lying  north  of  the  river  is  known 
as  The  Boulevards  of  Paris.  Here  stand  the  finest  of  the  handsome  buildings,  the  most 
magnificent  stores,  and  here  the  brightest  crowds  of  busy  people  are  always  to  be  seen. 
_  _  Besides  these,  other  boule- 

vards extend  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  if  the  late  Emperors 
had  laid  a  network  of  broad, 

_^=  =^.  beautiful   avenues    over    the 

finer  meshes  of  the  narrow 
and  irregular  streets  of  earlier 
days.  In  all  the  better  parts 
of  the  city  the  thoroughfares 
are  lined  with  trees,  seats  and 
little  towers,  called  vespasi- 
ennes,  while  restaurants,  cafe's, 
shops  and  places  of  amuse- 
ment stretch  on  and  on  for 
many  miles,  broken  only  by 
fine  open  squares. 

Outside  the  walls  on  the 
western  side  of  Paris  is  the 
great  pleasure  ground  of  the 
people,  the  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  public  garden  in 
Europe.  It  contains  nearly 


three  thousand  acres,  being 
about  three  times  the  size  of 
Central  Park  in  New  York. 
Beside  the  immense  aquari- 
ums, bird  pavilion,  garden 
for  cassowaries  and  ostriches 
to  be  seen,  there  are  miles  of  lovely  walks  and  drives  through  avenues  of  tall 
handsome  trees,  past  lawns,  flower-beds  and  beautiful  lakes.  Like  the  Drive  in 
Hyde  Park  of  London,  every  pleasant  afternoon  the  avenues  of  the  Bois  de  Bou- 
logne are  filled  with  a  pageant  of  beautiful  and  gorgeously  dressed  people  taking 
their  daily  airing.  The  principal  avenue  is  a  hundred  yards  wide,  and  at  the  upper  end 


ARC    DE    L  ETOILE. 


BOULEVARD    MONTMARTRE. 


66  Cities  of  the   World. 

leads  to  the  Gate  of  Maillot,  one  of  the  fortified  entrances  to  the  city.  From  here  a 
grand  street  runs  the  full  length  of  Paris,  ending  at  the  Gate  of  Vincennes,  which  lies 
above  another  charming  park,  the  Bois  de  Vincennes,  on  the  eastern  outskirts.  This 
one  avenue,  which  in  different  places  bears  various  names,  contains  a  large  part  of  the 
greatest  buildings  in  France.  At  the  entrance  gate,  it  is  the  Avenue  of  the  Grand  Army, 
which  stretches,  broad  and  handsome,  to  an  immense  open  square,  where  ten  avenues 
or  boulevards  come  together,  forming  the  Place  of  the  Star.  In  the  center  is  Napoleon's 
triumphal  arch,  called,  from  the  place  where  it  stands,  Arc  de  1'Etbile.  It  is  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  almost  as  broad,  with  great  arched  entrances  on  all 
sides.  It  is  adorned  by  pictures  in  relief,  representing  the  victories  of  the  Emperor,  and 
is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  architecture  in  the  world.  Three  of  the  avenues 
from  here  run  in  a  southerly  direction,  one  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  and  two  to  Place 
du  (which  means  square  of)  Trocadero,  where  the  Trocadero  Palace  stands.  This  is  a 
huge  crescent-shaped  Oriental  building,  erected  for  the  exhibition  of  1867.  It  faces  the 
river  with  a  handsomely  laid  out  park  extending  to  the  banks.  The  Palace  contains  a 
hall  for  concerts  and  several  interesting  collections  in  the  museum  galleries.  From  the 
great  dome,  which  crowns  the  building,  there  is  an  extended  view  of  Paris.  The  large 
sandy  space  opposite  is  a  military  parade  ground,  the  Champ-de-Mars  (Field  of  Mars), 
and  the  bridge  leading  to  it  is  the  Pont  de  Lena.  The  Champ-de-Mars  is  five  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  wide  and  twice  as  long.  At  the  further  end  stands  an  imposing  building 
with  a  Corinthian  portico  and  square  dome  above,  it  is  the  military  school  of  France, 
and  contains  a  pretty  chapel  like  that  of  the  royal  palace  of  Versailles.  Within  the  outer 
buildings  are  colonnaded  courts  ;  altogether  they  cover  twenty-six  acres  of  ground,  and 
include  infantry  and  cavalry  barracks  large  enough  to  hold  ten  thousand  men  and  eight 
hundred  horses.  Two  avenues  lead  from  the  School  or  the  Champs,  across  the  White 
Bridge,  which  is  some  distance  above  the  other,  back  to  the  Arc  de  1'Etoile.  A  short 
avenue  northward,  another  branch  of  the  great  Star,  leads  to  the  little  park  of  Monceaux, 
with  its  beautiful  gardens  of  plants,  and  statues,  historic  tombs  and  grottoes,  and  the 
colonnade  encircled  lake,  the  Naumachie,  one  of  the  remains  of  its  more  luxurious  days, 
when  Monceaux  was  an  imperial  pleasure  ground.  It  is  now  an  interesting  and  refreshing 
piece  of  green,  surrounded  by  fashionable  houses,  sumptuous  hotels,  and  broad  boule- 
vards. Beyond  the  Arc  de  1'Etoile,  the  Avenue  of  the  Grand  Army  becomes  the  Avenue 
of  the  Elysian  Fields,  or  Champs-Elysees.  In  the  summer  evenings  this  avenue  is  a  blaze 
of  light.  From  the  halls  and  places  of  amusement  overlooking  the  broad  thoroughfare 
come  the  sounds  of  music,  while  hundreds  and  thousands  of  people  are  walking  or  sitting 
beneath  the  grand  old  trees.  At  small  tables  on  the  side-walk  men  and  women  sit,  sip- 
ping coffee  and  gayly  talking  ;  rich  and  poor,  in  a  happy,  contented  and  economical  way, 
are  resting  and  enjoying  themselves  after  the  work  and  care  of  the  day.  Back  and  forth, 
riding  and  walking,  others  are  going  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  or  eastward  to  where  the 


Paris. 


67 


Champs-Elysees  broadens  into  a  magnificent  tree-planted  garden.  The  avenue  con- 
tinues straight  on  the  full  length  of  the  park,  which,  filled  with  fountains  and  beautiful 
buildings,  extends  to  the  Quay  de 
Conference.  This  is  one  of  the 
splendid  set  of  stone  river  walls 
of  Paris  which  for  six  miles  line 


HOTEL    DES    INVALIDES. 


NAPOLEON'S  TOMB. 

both  sides  of  the  Seine.  They 
are  made  with  broad  paved 
promenades,  lined  with  trees, 
beautified  with  statues  and 
plants,  and  furnished  with 
benches  and  sidewalks.  Some 
of  these  quays  were  built  in  the 
fourteenth  century  ;  for  Paris 
is  a  very  old  city.  You  may 
have  read  of  it  in  Caesar's  Com- 
mentaries, where  it  is  called 
Lutetia,  the  home  of  the  Gallic 
tribe,  Parisii.  A  fine,  stone 
bridge,  the  Pont  des  Invalides, 
at  the  south-western  corner  of 
the  Champs-Elysees,  stretches 
to  the  Quai  d'Orsay,  which  is  a 
broad,  pleasant  embankment, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
extending  from  the  Field  of 


68  Cities  of  the  World. 

Mars,  around  the  curve,  and  almost  to  the  center  of  the  city.  The  bridge  is  built  in 
arches  and  ornamented  with  military  statues  and  trophies,  for  it  is  the  most  direct  way 
from  the  western  part  of  Paris  to  the  great  Soldiers'  Home,  and  the  Hotel  des 
Invalides.  A  boulevard  runs  from  the  bridge  along  the  west  side  of  the  Invalides, 
while  in  front  of  it,  a  great  esplanade,  the  size  of  the  Field  of  Mars,  bordered  with 
several  rows  of  trees,  stretches  from  the  river  to  the  dry  moat  of  the  outer  court, 
where  the  "  Triumphal  Battery  "  bristles  with  a  row  of  cannon  taken  by  France  from 
her  enemies. 

The  Hotel  des  Invalides  is  two  hundred  years  old.  It  covers  about  thirty  acres,  and 
is  really  a  group  of  magnificent  buildings  around  grand  open  courts.  The  vast  three- 
storied  front  is  almost  as  long  as  the  width  of  the  Esplanade.  The  roof,  fafade  and 
gardens  are  all  decorated  with  military  statues  and  arms.  The  Hotel  includes  a 
fine  military  library  and  collections  of  many  works  of  art,  armor  and  artillery,  beside 
the  home  for  disabled  soldiers,  which  Louis  XIV.  founded,  to  assure  a  happy  existence 
to  those  who  had  lost  property  or  blood  in  the  cause  of  their  country.  The  principal 
entrance  leads  to  the  Grand  Court,  which  is  surrounded  by  two  tiers  of  imposing  arcades. 
Opposite  the  grand  portico  the  Church  of  St.  Louis  is  seen,  with  a  statue  of  Napoleon 
in  the  center  of  the  upper  arcade.  Beyond  is  the  gilded  roof  and  spire  of  the  Dome, 
which  contains  the  tomb  of  Napoleon.  This  chapel  maybe  reached  through  the  Church, 
but  is  quite  separate  from  it,  with  an  entrance  on  the  Place  Vauban,  the  head  of  many 
broad  streets,  which,  from  various  directions  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  come 
together  at  the  Invalides.  The  Dome  is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  religious  monument 
built  in  France  since  the  Renaissance,  which  was  the  revival  of  the  style  of  the  ancients 
in  building,  and  reached  France  in  about  the  sixteenth  century.  The  Dome  is  a  square 
edifice,  with  a  circular  tower  above  containing  twelve  windows  and  a  lofty  gilded  dome 
bearing  reliefs  representing  military  trophies.  The  cross  above  the  lantern  which  sur- 
mounts the  Dome  is  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  The  rich  sculptures  and 
symmetric  columns  of  the  outside  are  no  greater  in  beauty  than  the  interior,  where 
statues,  pictures,  mosaics  and  bas  reliefs  adorn  the  various  chapels  ;  and  beneath  the 
dome,  in  an  open  circular  crypt,  rests  a  great  coffin  of  polished  red  Finland  granite, 
containing  the  remains  of  Napoleon.  They  were  placed  here  according  to  the  wish  of 
the  Emperor.  The  words  from  his  will  are  on  the  chapel  door  :  "  I  desire  that  my  ashes 
may  rest  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  in  the  midst  of  the  French  people  that  I  love  so 
well."  The  walls,  the  pavements,  and  even  the  ceiling,  repeat  the  story  of  the  great 
Emperor's  deeds.  Facing  the  entrance  to  the  crypt,  in  a  cave  of  black  marble,  lighted 
by  a  single  lamp,  is  a  white  marble  statue  of  Napoleon  represented  in  his  imperial 
dress,  with  all  his  decorations  and  medals  of  honor,  the  sword  of  Austerlitz  and  the 
golden  crown  presented  to  him  by  the  city  of  Cherbourg. 

Among  the    cafes,    restaurants  and  other  buildings  in    the  southern  part   of   the 


Paris.  69 

Champs-Elysees,  is  the  Palace  of  Industry,  which  was  built  in  1854  for  the  Universal 
Exhibition,  and  is  now  used  for  different  exhibitions,  particularly  the  great  yearly  show 
of  paintings  and  sculptures,  called  the  Paris  Salon.  The  building  faces  the  main  avenue, 
and  occupies  nearly  one-third  its  length.  An  immense  arcade  of  Corinthian  columns 
flanks  the  principal  entrance  ;  above  is  a  bas  relief  representing  Industry  and  Arts 
bringing  their  products  to  the  Exhibition.  In  the  various  wings  and  galleries  of  this  great 
pavilion  are  many  fine  and  interesting  collections,  while  in  the  center  is  an  immense  glass- 
covered  hall  fifty  feet  high,  and  nearly  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  Opposite 


PALACE    OF    INDUSTRY. 

the  Palace  of  Industry,  beyond  the  main  avenue,  the  Champs-Elysees  connect  with  the 
gardens  of  the  Elysian  Palace.  This  stands  beyond  the  Avenue  Gabriel,  skirting  the 
Champs-Elysees  on  the  north,  and  fronting  on  the  next  street,  the  Rue  St.  Honore".  The 
Palais  Elyse"es  has  been  celebrated  in  French  history  from  the  days  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  has 
seen  many  uses.  Now-a-days  it  is  the  residence  of  the  President  of  the  Republic.  It 
stands  upon  a  terrace,  and  is  built  with  a  gallery  and  stone  balustrade  overlooking  the  street 
after  the  Italian  fashion.  The  monumental  gate  in  the  center  is  a  triumphal  arch,  supported 
by  Corinthian  columns,  and  beautifully  embellished  by  war  trophies,  ensigns  and 


7<D  Cities  of  the  World. 

standards  of  the  State.  Within  are  the  President's  apartments,  a  banquet  or  reception 
hall  and  rooms  richly  decorated,  particularly  with  tapestries.  The  main  avenue  of  the 
Champs-Elysees,  with  its  theaters,  its  fountains,  trees,  cafes  and  restaurants,  ends  in  the 
largest  and  most  beautiful  square  in  Paris,  the  Place  de  la  Concorde.  It  occupies  an 
immense  square  much  larger  than  the  Place  de  1'Etoile,  between  two  beautiful  parks,  the 
Champs-Elysees  and  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries,  bounded,  as  they  are,  on  the  north  by 
the  Avenue  Gabriel  (the  eastern  part  from  here  being  called  Rue  de  Rivoli),  and  on  the 


PLACE    DE    LA    CONCORDE. 

south  by  the  Seine,  which  is  here  crossed  by  the  Pont  de  la  Concorde.  This  is  more 
used  than  any  other  bridge  in  Paris,  and  leads  to  the  Quai  d'Orsay  in  front  of  the  two 
great  squares  of  handsome  public  buildings  adjoining  the  Esplanades  des  Invalides. 
From  the  center  of  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  is  a  magnificent  view  of  the  river,  the  verdant 
gardens  and  great  buildings.  The  long  rows  of  lights  in  the  evening  seem  to  stretch 
up  the  Champs-Elysees  in  a  "  never  ending  vista "  toward  the  Triumphal  Arch.  On 
all  sides  of  the  Place,  but  not  inclosing  it,  are  noble  buildings  with  deep  arcades  of 


Paris. 


columns  and  richly  sculptured  fronts.  Eight  stone  figures  standing  here  represent  the 
chief  towns  of  France.  In  a  straight  line  from  the  bridge  are  two  magnificent  fountains 
on  either  side  of  the  Obelisk  of  Luxor,  a  tall  red  monument  of  a  single  stone  from  the 

ruins  of  Thebes.  Beyond  is 
the  Rue  Royale,  at  the  head 
of  which  stands  La  Made- 
leine in  full  view  from  the 
Place.  This  is  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
built  in  the  style  of  a 
Greek  temple.  It  is  about 
a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
broad  and  a  hundred  high, 
built  of  stone,  without  any 
windows,  and  is  surrounded 
on  all  sides  with  a  line  of 
Corinthian  columns.  A 


INTERIOR     OF    THE 
*    MADELEINE. 

broad  flight  of  steps 
in  front  leads  to  the 
portico  with  its  won- 
derful bronze  doors 
over  thirty  feet  high 
wrought  into  designs 
taken  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  relat- 
ing to  the  command- 
ments of  God.  The 
pediment  above  the 
front  colonnade  is 
covered  with  sculp- 
lures  representing  THE  MADELEINE. 

Christ   as  the    Judge    of    the    world,    with    angels    and    men    on    either    side,    and 
Mary  Magdalene  praying  for  the  condemned.      The   inside    is   walled   and    paved    in 


72 


Cities  of  the  World. 


marble,  with  decorations  in  gold  and  rich  colors.  Thiough  the  stained-glass  win- 
dows of  the  dome  marvelous  lights  shine  on  polished  columns  and  grand  pieces  of 
sculpture,  fresco  and  painting.  La  Madeleine  stands  on  a  triangle-shaped  place, 
at  the  apex  of  which,  in  front  of  the  Church,  two  great  sections  of  The  Boule- 
vard meet.  One  on  the  west  is  from  the  Pare  Monceaux  ;  the  other  runs  north- 
eastward and  ends  on  the  Place  du  Opera,  a  couple  of  blocks  away.  This,  too,  is  a 
center  for  half  a  dozen  important  streets  and  boulevards,  one  of  which  runs  southward 
to  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  ;  but  about  midway  it  spreads  out  into  the  eight-sided  square  of 
the  Place  Vendome,  with  the  statue  of  Napoleon  in  the  center,  on  a  great  stone  shaft, 

which  is  an  enlarged  copy 
of  the  Column  of  Trajan 
at  Rome.  It  is  covered 
with  bas  reliefs  illustrat- 
ing the  battles  of  the 
Emperor,  made  upon 
bronze  plates  cast  out  of 
Austrian  and  Russian 
cannon.  The  square  is 
faced  by  majestic,  but 
monotonous  -  looking 
buildings  ;  it  overlooks 
the  center  of  the  Garden 
of  the  Tuileries  at  "the 
other  end  of  the  street. 
This  Jardin  des  Tuileries 
is  an  oblong  park  about 
as  large  as  the  Champs- 
Elyse"es.  It  is  made  up  of  beautiful  terraces  with  rows  of  orange  trees,  delightful  walks 
and  groves,  flower  gardens  and  grass  plots,  adorned  with  statues,  vases,  fountains  and 
basins  of  water,  round  which  the  children  play  from  morning  till  night,  and  nurses  sit 
watching  their  little  charges. 

The  Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  which  was  built  by  Catherine  de  Medici  as  a  royal 
residence  in  1564,  gave  the  name  to  these  gardens.  During  centuries  of  service  as  an 
imperial  residence,  they  had  become  connected  by  galleries  with  the  Louvre  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  to  the  east,  and  with  it  made  the  most  magnificent  building  in  the  Empire  ;  but 
in  the  Commune  in  1871,  the  Tuileries  part  was  nearly  all  destroyed.  The  pavilion 
nearest  the  river  has  been  restored,  and  the  north  wing  rebuilt,  and  in  time  the  ruins  of 
the  Palace  will  probably  be  forgotten  in  the  new  halls  and  galleries,  which  will  stand 
handsomer  than  of  old,  stretching  away  to  the  Louvre,  beyond  the  Place  du  Carrousel. 


PLACE   VENDOME. 


Paris. 


73 


Two  bridges  cross  the  Seine  here  :  Pont  Solferino  from  about  the  center  of  the  Gardens 
and  the  ancient  Pont  Royale  from  the  western  corner  of  the  Palace.  On  three  sides,  the 
Palace  of  the  Tuileries  overlooks  a  Court  which  is  separated  by  a  railing  from  the  Place 
du  Carrousel.  This  is  the  heart  of  the  French  capital.  It  was  once  an  open  space 
between  the  Court  of  the  Tuileries  and  the  squares  of  the  Louvre,  but  when  Napoleon 
connected  the  two  Palaces  between  which  it  stood,  the  Place  du  Carrousel  became 
flanked  with  galleries  which  stood  above  the  street,  so  that  it  was  still  a  public 


GARDEN    OF    THE    TUILERIES. 

thoroughfare.  The  Place  was  given  the  name  Carrousel  after  a  f£te,  which  was 
a  sort  of  horse-back  ball,  given  by  Louis  XIV.  in  1662.  In  the  center  stands  another 
Triumphal  Arch,  which  was  begun  at  about  the  same  time  as  that  of  1'Etoile.  It  has 
three  arches  and  is  made  of  bronze  and  marble,  with  embellishments  of  statues  and  bas 
reliefs.  Upon  the  top  is  a  figure  representing  the  Restoration  in  a  chariot  drawn  by 
splendid  horses,  copied  after  those  on  the  portal  of  St.  Mark's  in  Venice,  which  were 
brought  here  as  a  trophy,  but  sent  back  by  Emperor  Francis.  The  Louvre  has  a  great 
quadrangle  of  buildings  at  the  eastern  end,  with  double  galleries,  or  wings,  stretching  out, 


74 


Cities  of  the  World. 


on  both  sides,  to  the  tiers  above  the  Place  du  Carrousel.     The   Louvre  is   the  most 
important  building  of  Paris,  both  in  architecture  and  on  account  of  its  vast  treasures  of 


THE    LOUVRE. 

art.  Parts  of  it  are  very  ancient,  too.  The  hollow  square  at  the  eastern  end  was  begun 
some  time  during  1500  for  a  royal  residence.  After  centuries  this  quadrangle  was  com- 
pleted, then  enlarged  by  add- 
ing the  wings.  The  kings  and 
queens  of  France  were  very 
fond  of  putting  up  splendid 
palaces  :  and  as  one  came  after 
another,  this  royal  mansion 
grew  in  beauty  and  magnifi- 
cence. On  the  facade  toward 
the  east  are  twenty-eight  great 
Corinthian  columns  in  pairs  ; 
this  is  five  hundred  feet  long 
and  ninety  feet  high.  The 
newer  buildings  and  galleries 
connecting  with  the  Tuileries 
GRAND  GALLERY  IN  THE  LOUVRE.  have  massive  showy  facades 


Paris. 


75 


and  pavilions  roofed  with  domes,  Corinthian  half-columns,  caryatids  and  colossal 
statues.  Since  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Old  Louvre,  as  the  quad- 
rangle is  called,  has  been  used  as  a  museum,  and  now  the  whole  of  the  great  pile  is 
devoted  to  collections,  which,  taken  together,  are  the  most  valuable,  interesting  and 
beautiful  in  the  world.  They  have  been  growing  under  the  best  taste  and  care  in  France 
since  the  sixteenth  century  .  The  galleries,  halls  and  all  the  apartments  are  so  vast  in 
extent  that  it  takes  two  hours  to  walk  through  them  without  stopping.  The  apartments 
themselves  are  rich  and  beautiful,  while  their  well-arranged  collections  comprise 
magnificent  pictures,  rare  sculptures  and  curiosities,  with  antiquities  of  ancient  Egyptian, 
Greek  and  Roman  art. 


BRIDGE    OF    ARTS   AND    LOUVRE    PALACE. 

The  Bridge  of  Arts  crosses  the  river  from  the  center  of  the  Old  Louvre  to  the 
Place  in  front  of  the  crescent-shaped  facade  of  the  Palace  of  the  Institute.  The  Insti- 
tute of  France  is  a  great  society  made  up  of  five  branch  societies,  called  Academies, 
each  devoted  to  special  branches  of  learning  or  art.  United  they  form  the  intellectual 
guide  of  the  Republic, — just  as  there  are  heads  of  the  military,  naval  and  other 


76  Cities  of  the    World. 

important  departments  of  the  nation.  The  Institute  is  devoted  to  the  progress  of 
science,  general  usefulness  and  the  glory  of  France  ;  not  so  much  to  teach  as  to  judge. 
An  artist  or  author  who.  is  recognized  by  the  Institute  is  famous  and  successful,  but  if 
they  ignore  or  criticise  him  unfavorably  he  is  condemned.  Each  Academy,  according 
to  its  own  special  branch,  exists  to  help  along  what  is  good  and  annihilate  what  is  poor. 
Above  the  Corinthian  portico  overlooking  the  water  is  an  immense  dome,  while  on  either 
side  the  long  arcade  wings  extend  toward  the  east  and  west.  The  courts  within  are 
used  as  public  thoroughfares,  but  are  flanked  by  the  public  and  private  buildings  of  the 
different  branches  of  the  Institute,  the  great  library,  and  valuable  collections  of  art, 
science  and  antiquities. 

The  School  of  Fine  Arts,  near  by,  was   founded    about    1650    for  the  teaching 
of  painting,  sculpture,  engraving,  gem-cutting  and  architecture.     It  occupies  the  Palace 


PONT    AU    CHANGE,    PALACE    OF    JUSTICE    AND    THEATRE    DU    CHATELET. 

of  Fine  Arts,  a  pile  of  massive  and  handsome  buildings  of  the  present  century,  standing 
between  the  Pont  du  Carrousel  and  the  Pont  des  Arts.  This  palace  abounds  in  artistic 
beauty,  with  its  fine  gates,  columns,  statues  and  reliefs,  while  it  contains  an  excellent  art 
library,  models,  drawings,  portraits  and  rare  pictures.  Exhibitions  of  the  students' 


Paris. 


77 


work  are  held  here  once  a  year,  when  all  are  carefully  examined  and  criticised  by  the 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  In  this  vicinity  there  are  many  other  general  and  special  art 
schools,  for  in  Paris  the  beautiful  seems  to  be  the  grand  pursuit  of  life,  after  which,  if 
there  is  time,  the  homely  and  practical  side  may  come.  Adjoining  the  Institute  on  the 
east  the  Hotel  des  Monnaies,  or  the  Mint,  stretches  a  fagade  of  Ionic  columns  for  almost 
four  hundred  feet  along  the  broad  quay.  La  Monnaie,  as  it  is  called,  contains,  beside 
the  departments  where  the  money  of  France  is  made,  financial  offices  and  an  extensive 
museum.  In  the  statue-adorned  vestibule  there  are  cabinets  of  metals  used  in  coining, 
ancient  coins,  medals  and  postage  stamps.  In  the  principal  hall  are  cases  of  French 
•coins  arranged  according  to  date  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  present  ;  other 
cabinets  are  of  foreign 
money  of  every  country, 
among  which  is  a  Chinese 
coin  of  1700  B.  C.;  an- 
other room  shows  models 
of  instruments  and  fur- 
naces used  in  coining  ; 
and  these  are  but  a  part 
of  the  objects  of  interest 
in  the  Mint  of  Paris. 

The  vicinity  of  the 
Louvre,  on  either  side  of 
the  river,  is  a  part  of  the 
great  French  city  never 
to  be  forgotten.  The 
Rue  de  Rivoli,  with  its 
gay  stores,  bright  cafes 
and  massive  buildings  of 
light-colored  limestone, 
carved  and  ornamented 
everywhere,  is  next  to 
the  Boulevards  in 
beauty  and  life.  Immense 
open  squares  afford  space 
for  statues  and  fountains,  while  a  solid  grandeur  is  behind- all  in  the  imposing  buildings 
many  stories  high.  Even  the  private  houses  are  built  around  huge  blocks  and,  towering 
skyward  with  six  or  seven  floors,  one  above  another,  are  large  enough  to  be  occupied  by 
twenty  separate  families.  The  different  apartments  have  a  common  staircase  from  the 
inner  court,  which  is  reached  by  a  gateway  on  the  street,  kept  by  a  porter. 


RUE   DE    RIVOLI    AND    TOWER    OF    ST.    JACQUES. 


78  Cities  of  the   World. 

Above  the  New  Louvre,  the  northern  wing  now  occupied  by  the  Ministry  of  France, 
there  opens  upon  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  the  bright  and  busy  Square  of  the  Royal  Palace,  or 
Place  du  Palais  Royal.  On  the  right  and  left  are  fine  hotels,  the  easterly  one  being 
the  Grand  Hotel  du  Louvre,  one  of  the  three  largest  in  Paris.  The  ground  floor  of  this 
is  taken  up  by  some  great  stores,  for  which  the  Place  is  noted.  On  the  north  side  is 
the  Palais  Royal,  built  and  occupied  by  Cardinal  Richelieu.  Until  the  death  of  the 
statesman-priest  it  was  called  the  Palais-Cardinal ;  but  from  that  time  until  the  Com- 
mune of  '71  it  was  occupied  as  a  royal  residence  or  by  members  of  the  imperial 


PALAIS   ROYAL    PLACE. 

family.  Now,  after  being  completely  restored,  it  is  mainly  used  by  the  State  Council, 
and  for  objects  of  historic  interest.  Beyond  the  Palais  proper  are  the  gardens  and 
arcades  of  the  Palais  Royal,  an  immense  block  of  jewelry  and  fancy  stores  built 
around  a  garden  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
wide.  It  is  shaded  by  rows  of  elms  and  limes,  and  filled  with  fountains  and  statues. 
The  arcades  once  held  the  best  shops  in  Paris  ;  they  are  still  fine,  but  are  scarcely 
equal  to  those  of  the  Boulevards  ;  the  floors  above  contain  restaurants  and  cafes. 
Beyond  the  rear  of  the  Palais  Royal  is  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  or  National  Library, 


Paris. 


79 


a  block  of  buildings  which  holds  the  largest  and  finest  library  in  the  world.  It  contains 
one  million  and  three  hundred  thousand  books,  over  a  hundred  thousand  valuable 
manuscripts,  five  thousand  rare  engravings,  and  a  vast  collection  of  coins  and  medals. 
The  book-cases  placed  in  line  would  make  about  forty  miles  of  excellently-bound  books 
of  the  best  editions  published.  The  buildings  surround  five  inner  courts  and  are  plain 
but  imposing,  while  the  interior  displays  some  very  fine  decorations.  Beyond  this 
Bibliotheque  Nationale,  still  further  to  the  eastward  from  the  Palais  Royal,  is  the  Bourse, 
or  Exchange,  a  handsome  building  surrounded  by  Corinthian  columns  and  copied  from 


PALAIS   ROYAL    GARDEN. 

the  Temple  of  Vespasian  in  the  Forum  at  Rome.  It  stands  in  the  center  of  an 
immense  square,  shaded  with  trees.  The  Parquet,  which  corresponds  to  the  Floor  of 
the  New  York  Exchange,  is  surrounded  by  a  pillared  gallery  from  which,  during  the 
few  hours  of  business,  visitors  look  down  upon  the  tumultuous  scene  of  excited  brokers, 
yelling  and  gesticulating  wildly.  The  Bank  of  France,  lying  east  of  the  Palais  Royal, 
is  a  plain,  substantial  building,  of  little  interest  outside  its  business.  On  the  western 
side  of  the  Palais  Royal  is  the  Theatre  Frangaise,  or  French  Theater,  which  is  ranked 
first  among  the  places  of  amusement  in  the  city.  The  handsomest  part  of  the  build- 
ing is  the  vestibule,  which  contains  fine  statues  and  figures.  The  foyer,  corridors  and 


8o 


Cities  of  the  World. 


hall  are  richly  decorated  and  well  arranged.  A  small  square  in  front  of  the  Theatre, 
with  bronze  statues  and  two  fountains,  stands  at  the  foot  of  the  Avenue  de  l'Ope*ra,  a 
broad,  straight  thoroughfare,  lined  with  blocks  of  enormous  buildings,  leading  to  the 
Place  de  1'Opera.  From  here 
the  superb  New  Opera  House,  or 
the  National  Academy  of  Music, 
looks  down  the  avenue  into  the 
heart  of  Paris.  L'Opera  is  the 
largest  in  the  world,  covering 
nearly  three  acres  of  ground. 
Between  four  and  five  hundred 
houses  were  removed  for  the 
site,  and  the  richest  materials  of 
Europe  were  brought  to  erect 
the  building.  The  principal  en- 
trances are  at  each  end  of  the 


THE    BOURSE    (STOCK    EXCHANGE). 


INTERIOR    OF    THE    BOURSE. 

front,  through  two  sculptured 
arches,  which  stand  out  from 
the  long  arcade  of  the  por- 
tico. The  second  story  is  set 
with  Corinthian  columns  in 
colored  marble,  and  is  orna- 
mented with  gilt  and  bronze  ; 
above  are  magnificent  mosa- 
ics and  reliefs,  and  a  low 
dome  crowns  the  center  in 


front  •  of  a  huge  pediment  on  the  point  of  which  is  a  group  of  beautiful  statuary,  corre- 
sponding to  other  groups  on  the  roof,  above  the  entrances.  L'Opera  is  entered 
through  the  gilded  gates  of  the  portico.  The  magnificence  of  the  interior  is  scarcely 


Paris. 


81 


to  be  compared  with  what  we  have  seen  outside.  Directly  opposite  is  the  Grand  Stair- 
case with  its  dividing  flight  of  white  marble  steps,  on  the  lower  half  of  which  fifty  people- 
can  stand  abreast ;  balustrades  and  hand  rails  are  of  precious  stone,  tiers  of  balconies 
above  are  separated  by  colored  marble  columns  rising  to  the  third  story,  while  the  bril- 
liant light  of  hundreds  of  lamps  is  shed  all  around  on  the  sumptuous  beauty  of  every 
kind  of  desirable  decoration.  The  Salle,  or  theater  proper,  is  also  elaborately  decorated  ; 
the  ceilings  are  painted  with  allegorical  scenes  on  copper  ;  the  rich  curtain  is  of  plain 


THEATRE    FRANCAISE. 

red  and  gold,  while  stage  boxes,  galleries  and  walls  lack  neither  sculpture,  paintings  nor 
mosaics  to  make  them  gorgeous  and  luxurious.  The  stage  is  nearly  two  hundred  feet 
in  height,  almost  as  wide,  and  seventy-five  feet  deep.  The  Grand  Foyer,  or  lobby,  is 
handsomest  of  all ;  it  extends  the  full  length  of  the  first  floor  of  the  building ;  it  is 
lighted  by  gilded  lusters  and  huge  candelabra,  hanging  in  long  lines  in  front  of  great 
columns  which,  from  floor  to  ceiling,  extend  the  length  of  the  apartment  in  pairs.  The 
decorations  look  as  if  made  of  solid  gold,  while  at  the  end  a  huge  mirror  is  placed  so  as 
to  make  the  hall  appear  of  unlimited  length.  Above  the  doors,  and  in  every  possible  spot, 
are  pieces  of  sculpture,  painting  and  reliefs,  all  with  reference  to  music  and  art,  some  of 
which  are  so  fine  that  the  Grand  Foyer  might  well  be  called  a  gallery  of  art. 

Eastward  from  l'Opera,the  Boulevard  with  its  handsome  stores,  blocks  of  houses  and 


82 


Cities  of  the    World. 


throngs  of  people  gradually  reaches  the  poorer  quarter  at  the  two  most  famous  gates  of 
Paris,  St.  Denis  and  St.  Martin,  triumphal  arches,  which  were  once  the  northern 
entrances  to  the  City,  through  the  ancient  ramparts.  St.  Denis,  the  finer  of  the  two  gates, 
was  built  in  honor  of  the  conquests  of  Louis  XIV.  in  Holland  and  Germany  ;  huge 
obelisks  in  relief  upon  the  fagades  are  ornamented  with  sculptures  of  the  trophies  taken 
in  the  Netherlands.  St.  Martin  Gate  has  one  large  and  two  small  archways,  and  in 
simple  decorations  commemorates  other  victories  of  "  Louis  le  Grand."  The  Gates 
stand  near  together  where  the  thickly  settled  streets  are  crowded  with  vehicles  and 


OPERA   HOUSE. 

people.  From  here,  two  great  Boulevards  run  for  miles  through  the  city,  crossing  the 
river  and  leading  far  away  beyond  the  walls  to  the  suburbs  on  the  southern  outskirts. 
Beneath  these  Boulevards  are  the  principal  canals  of  the  vast  network  of  sewers  which 
underlies  Paris  and  keeps  it  one  of  the  healthiest  cities  in  the  world.  For  an  hour  every 
morning  when  the  water  is  turned  on  an  army  of  housemaids  may  be  seen  with  their 
brooms,  washing  the  streets,  so  that  when  the  traps  are  closed  the  thoroughfares  are 
neat  and  clean  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the  other,  the  refuse  of  the  previous  day 
being  carried  away  under  ground.  The  sewers  are  so  well  built  and  ventilated  that 


Paris. 


•cars,  arranged  to  run  on  the  ledges  of  the  canals,  often  carry  parties  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  for  miles  over  them. 

The  catacombs,  also 
famous  subterranean  pas- 
sages of  Paris,  were  made 
by  quarrying  under  the 
city  for  the  limestone  of 
which  most  of  the  build- 
ings are  made.  They  are 
on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  and  are  now  almost 
completely  lined  with 
bones  and  skulls,  placed 
here  from  the  cemeteries, 
or  remains  of  the  bodies 
rudely  thrown  in  during 
the  Revolution  and  the 
Reign  of  Terror.  East- 
ward from  Porte  St.  Martin 
on  the  Boulevard  is  the 
Place  de  la  Republique, 
from  which  large  streets 
and  small  run  in  every 
direction.  It  resembles 
the  Place  de  la  Concorde, 
and  when  the  present 
work  upon  it  is  finished  it 
will  be  one  of  the  finest 
squares  in  the  city.  Be- 
low the  Gates  is  the  con- 
servatory of  Arts  and 
Trades,  one  of  the  greatest 
industrial  schools  and  mu- 

seums  in  Europe,  once  a  GRAND  STAIRCASE,  OPERA  HOUSE. 

Benedictine  Abbey.  The  buildings  are  of  the  Gothic  style  and  very  fine  ;  they  contain 
large  collections  in  models  and  machinery  of  every  kind.  The  Salle-Echo  on  the  ground 
floor  is  like  the  Whispering  Gallery  of  St.  Paul's  in  London.  The  school  teaches  and 
trains  workmen  in  every  branch  of  applied  science.  Beyond  the  Conservatory  a  side 
street  from  the  Rue  St.  Martin  leads  to  the  Halles  Centrales,  the  great  provision  markets 


84 


Cities  of  the   World. 


of  Paris.     This  vast  structure  is  of  iron  covered  with  zinc,  and  consists  of  ten  pavilions 
with  covered  streets  between,  across  which  a  boulevard  over  a  hundred  feet  wide  runs  to 

the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  one  square 
eastward  of  the  Louvre  and 
westward  of  the  Tower  of  St. 
Jacques,  which  stands  on  the 
Rue  de  Rivoli  between  the 
cross  -  town  boulevards,  of 
which  St.  Martin  is  one.  This 
square  Gothic  tower  is  all  that 
remains  of  an  ancient  church, 
taken  down  about  a  hun- 
dred years  ago.  In  the  hall 
on  the  ground  floor  is  a  statue 
of  the  philosopher  Pascal,  who 
made  some  experiments  with 
air  on  the  summit  of  the 
Tower.  St.  Jacques  is  a  hun- 


dred   and    seventy-five    feet 
SAINT-DENIS  GATE.  high   and    affords   the   finest 

view  that  can  be  obtained  of  Paris.  Up  and  down  the  river  are  the  arched  bridges, 
broad  tree-lined  quays,  great 
buildings  and  squares.  Through 
the  city  are  the  pretty  green 
"lungs,"  as  they  have  been 
called  in  London,  and  a  laby- 
rinth of  streets  and  boulevards. 
The  main  avenue  which  we 
have  followed  from  the  Gate 
of  Maillot  through  the  Champs 
Elysees,  past  the  Jardin  des 
Tuileries  and  the  Louvre,  is  the 
same  that  lies  at  the  foot  of  the 
Tower  ;  beyond,  it  passes  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  or  Town  Hall, 
which  is  a  new  building  scarcely 
finished  to  take  the  place  of  the 


old  one,  which,  until  the  Com- 
mune of   '71,   had    served  the  SAINT  MARTIN  GATE. 


Paris. 


town  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  The  new  buildings  are  modeled  after  the  old 
ones  in  the  form  of  a  vast  rectangle,  containing  three  inner  courts,  surrounded  by  public 
offices  and  gorgeous  reception 
rooms.  The  four  fagades  have 
niches  in  which  eight-foot  stat- 
ues of  more  than  one  hundred 
eminent  people  born  in  Paris 
are  to  stand.  Many  names  have 
been  already  chosen,  but  twen- 
ty-four places  will  be  left  for 
those  yet  to  be  called  great. 
Beyond  the  Hotel  de  Ville  the 
busy,  crowded  Rivoli  passes  St. 
Paul's  church  and  enters  the 
Place  de  la  Bastile,  the  square 
of  greater  historic  interest  than 
any  other  in  Paris.  In  the  cen- 
ter stands  the  Column  of  July, 
on  the  site  of  the  old  prison 
fortress  of  the  Bastile,  "  the  em- 
blem of  tyranny "  which  the 
Revolutionists  demolished  on 
the  i4th  of  July,  1789,  so  that  THE  SEWERS  OF  PARIS. 

not  one  stone  was  left  on  another.     This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  monuments  in  the 
capital.     A  great  square,  ornamented  with  bronze  medallions,  supports  the  white  marble 

pedestal,  also  decorated  with 
bronze,  on  which  rests  the 
fluted  Column,  of  bronze,  with 
the  names  of  the  "  July  he- 
roes "  emblazoned  in  gilt  let- 
ters. Above  the  lantern  on 
the  top  is  a  figure  of  Liberty 
holding  a  torch  in  one  hand 
and  fragments  of  broken 
chains  in  the  other.  Within 
the  Column  a  staircase  leads 
to  the  top,  from  which  there 
is  a  fine  view  ;  beneath  there 
CATACOMBS.  are  large  vaults,  where  the 


86 


Cities  of  the   World. 


remains  of  those  who  fell  here  during  the  Revolution  rest  in  stone  coffins.  The  handsome 
store-lined  streets,  pretty  gardens  and  throngs  of  people  surrounding  La  Bastile  show  no 
traces  of  the  great  events  which  have  taken  place  here  ;  the  times  have  changed  :  history 
not  locality,  preserves  the  story  of  the  thrilling  scenes  of  the  Revolution  of  1789,  the  Insur- 
rection of  1848  and  the  Commune  of  1871.  Beneath  La  Bastile  is  the  Canal  St.  Martin, 
by  which  barges  and  small  tug-steamers  enter  Paris  from  the  north-eastern  suburbs  and 
reach  the  Seine  under  the  shrubberies  of  the  Boulevard  Richard  le  Noir.  The  Canal 


INTERIOR   OF    THE   HALLES   CENTRALES. 

meets  the  Seine  beneath  a  quay  opposite  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  which  covers  seventy- 
five  acres  of  ground,  beautifully  laid  out,  and  containing  the  larger  part  of  the  institutions 
of  Paris  for  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences.  Museums,  lecture-halls,  parks  and 
galleries  are  devoted  to  collections  of  natural  history,  geology,  minerals,  and  botany, 
zoological  and  botanical  gardens,  libraries  and  laboratories,  all  of  which  are  very  fine  and 
well  arranged.  The  Boulevard,  crossing  the  water  by  the  Pont  d'Austerlitz,  here  begins 
its  southern  semi-circle  by  separating  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  from  the  Hospital  of 
Saltpetriere,  which  covers  even  more  acres  than  the  Jardin,  and  although  only  devoted 
to  the  care  of  aged  and  insane  women,  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world.  Paris,  with 


Paris. 


all  its  beauty  and  happiness  must  have  a  great  deal  of  sorrow  and  sickness,  for  there  are 
about  twenty  hospitals,  beside  a  large  number  of  other  institutions  for  the  half-sick,  blind, 

deaf    and    dumb,     insane    and  •    _ 

otherwise  helpless. 

From  the  Tower  of  St. 
Jacques  the  river  is  seen  to 
divide  below  the  Canal  St.  Mar- 
tin and  to  pass  the  Isle  of  St. 
Louis.  This  is  connected  with 
both  the  main  banks  by  a  bridge 
at  the  upper  point,  and,  at  the 
southern  end,  with  the  north 
shore  of  another  and  a  larger 
island.  The  He  St.  Louis  is  a 
dull  and  retired  spot  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  the  liveliest 
parts  of  the  city ;  it  contains 
little  that  is  interesting  except 
the  Lambert  Mansion  and  some 
other  ancient  buildings.  But  the 
lower  island,  which  is  both 
broader  and  longer,  extends 
from  about  opposite  the  Hotel 
de  Ville  to  the  Monnaie,  or 
nearly  to  the  Louvre.  This  is 
the  He  de  la  Cite,  the  most  an- 
tique part  of  Paris,  and  the  cen- 
ter of  the  city  in  the  ancient 
days  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
that  small  district  marked  by  the 
Inner  Boulevards  was  Paris,  in 
three  divisions,  La  Ville  on  the 
North  bank,  the  Latin  Quarter 
or  L'Universite"  on  the  south,  La 

NOTRE    DAME. 

Cite"  on  the  island  between.    It  is 

very  closely  built  up,  crossed  by  the  parallel  streets  from  St.  Denis  and  St.  Martin  Gates, 
skirted  by  fine  quays  and  connected  with  the  mainland  by  many  bridges.  On  the  eastern  end 
is  the  grand  old  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  on  ground  that  has  been  occupied  by  a  church 
since  the  fourth  century.  The  Cathedral  itself  was  built  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteen  cen- 


88 


Cities  of  the    World. 


turies.  It  is  in  the  Gothic  style,  and  on  the  front  rises  three  stories  high,  with  two  square 
and  massive  towers  above.  The  three  doors  are  made  in  Gothic  recesses  and  occupy 
the  entire  north  of  the  front,  with  great  Gothic  windows  on  either  side,  a  Catherine  wheel 
window  above.  The  whole  of  the  imposing  fagade  is  adorned  with  columns,  rich  carving 
and  sculptures.  The  outside  of  the  body  of  the  church  and  the  transept  too  are  very 
beautiful.  Where  the  transept  crosses  the  nave,  a  spire  of  wood  rises,  which  is 
covered  with  lead  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  The  columns,  arches 
and  stained-glass  windows  and  wood  carving  inside  the  Cathedral  are  beautiful  and 
interesting  for  so  old  a  building,  which  has  been  many  times  almost  demolished  by  the 
ravages  of  war.  The  chapels  contain  a  number  of  monuments  and  fine  frescos  •,  the 


HOTEL    DIEU    AND    NOTRE    DAME. 

treasury  holds  some  very  ancient  sacred  relics  ;  and  in  one  of  the  towers  is  a  bell  brought 
from  Sebastopol  as  a  trophy  ;  the  other  has  the  great  Bourdon  de  Notre-Dame,  one  of 
the  largest  bells  in  the  world.  The  Cathedral  is  surrounded  by  shrubbery  and  open 
squares,  in  one*  of  which  there  is  a  beautiful  little  Gothic  fountain  ;  and  on  the  other, 
the  Parvis  Notre  Dame,  the  new  Hotel  Dieu,  stands  at  right  angles  with  the  Cathe- 
dral. The  original  Hotel  Dieu  was  probably  the  oldest  hospital  in  Europe,  founded  ii> 


Paris. 


89 


660  ;  this  one  is  an  immense  pile,  made  up  of  three  distinct  sets  of  buildings  which 
serve  for  a  large  hospital,  and  a  college  for  training  in  medicine  and  surgery,  famous 
throughout  all  Europe. 

Below  the  Hotel  Dieu,  which  with  the  Parvis  Ndtre  Dame  occupies  the  entire  width 
of  La  Cite",  is  the  famous  old  Bridge  of  Notre  Dame,  connecting  the  main  street  of  the 
island  with  St.  Martin  Boulevard.  Opposite  the  great  hospital  are  the  flower  markets, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Parisian  police,  the  firemen  and  health  officers,  which  with  five 
buildings  of  the  Tribunal  de  Commerce  are  separated  by  the  second  of  the  parallel 
boulevards  from  the  Palais  de  Justice.  This  vast  collection  of  buildings  occupies  nearly 


TRIBUNAL    OF    COMMERCE. 

all  the  remaining  portion  of  La  Cite.  The  land  was  once  covered  by  the  ancient  palace 
of  the  Kings  of  France,  presented  to  the  supreme  court  of  justice  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. Four  towers  of  the  old  palace  are  still  standing,  which,  with  the  Kitchens  of  St. 
Louis  and  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  are  all  that  are  left  of  the  original  buildings.  Even  the 
new  buildings  were  so  destroyed  by  the  Commune  that  most  of  the  Palace  of  Justice 
which  we  now  see  are  mainly  buildings  of  the  last  twenty  years.  In  the  Grand  Court, 
adjoining  the  boulevard,  are  the  broad  steps  of  the  principal  entrance,  adorned  by 


90  Cities  of  the  World. 

statues  and  surmounted  by  a  great  square  dome.  The  court-room  is  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  world,  being  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  almost  two  hundred  wide, 
in  the  form  of  two  vaulted  galleries  ;  it  is  embellished  with  statues  and  decorations,  and 
opened  into  by  many  courts.  Other  galleries  and  halls  of  the  Palace  are  taken  up  by 
the  offices  of  the  law.  From  the  Grand  Court  three  vaulted  passages  lead  toward  the 
Sainte  Chapelle,  which  was  in  olden  times  the  palace  chapel,  and  is  now,  to-day,  the  most 
perfect  gem  of  Gothic  architecture  in  the  world.  The  "Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghosts,"  the 
only  service  now  held  in  the  chapel,  is  celebrated  once  a  year  when  the  courts  open 
after  the  autumn  vacation.  It  consists  of  a  lower  chapel,  containing  tombs  of  saints, 
from  which  a  spiral  staircase  leads  to  the  upper  chapel,  where  the  service  is  held.  The 
magnificent  stained-glass  windows  framed  in  beautiful  tracery,  take  up  almost  the  entire 
walls,  while  the  other  parts  of  the  interior  are  richly  decorated  in  many  colors,  harmon- 
izing with  the  windows.  Statues  of  the  Apostles  are  placed  against  the  pillars,  and 
behind  the  altar  is  a  Gothic  canopy  in  carved  wood.  The  lower  part  of  the  Palais  de 
Justice  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  is  occupied  by  the  Conciergerie,  a  famous  prison  of 
France,  whose  grim  walls  and  strong  locks  have  confined  Marie  Antoinette,  Danton, 
Robespierre,  and  many  others  whose  names  will  never  fade  from  the  history  of  France. 
Beyond  the  Palais  are  the  flower-beds  and  brick  houses  of  the  Place  Dauphine,  and  the 
renowned  New  Bridge  which  stretches  from  the  left  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Seine,  across 
the  western  end  of  La  Cite",  with  a  notable  bronze  statue  of  Henry  IV.  in  the  center. 

South  of  La  Cite"  is  the  thickly  settled  Latin  Quarter,  with  its  schools  and  colleges, 
centuries  old.  The  famous  Sarbonne,  built  by  Cardinal  Richelieu,  is  here.  It  contains 
lecture  halls,  class-rooms  and  four  laboratories  of  the  University  of  France,  beside  a 
large  public  library.  Near  by  is  the  College  of  France,  where  free  public  lectures  are 
given  by  eminent  scholars  and  teachers  ;  the  Polytechnic  School ;  institutes  of  medicine, 
law,  arts  and  all  branches  of  knowledge.  The  Pantheon  is  not  far  away  from  the  Sar- 
bonne, on  the  continuation  of  St.  Martin  Boulevard.  This  was  begun  as  a  church  in 
1764,  but  before  it  was  finished  was  converted  into  a  temple  to  the  great  men  of  the 
nation  by  the  Convention  of  1741  ;  but  a  late  emperor  again  made  it  a  church  of  St. 
Genevieve.  The  great  and  beautiful  building  is  in  appearance  partly  a  church  and 
partly  a  temple,  with  its  colonnaded  peristyle,  beautifully  carved  pediment  and  lofty 
dome  above,  surrounded  by  columns ;  the  same  is  seen  within, — lofty  arches,  galleries 
and  pillars,  majestic  and  magnificent.  The  fine  frescos  in  the  cupolas  are  but  a  part  of 
the  works  of  art  in  painting,  sculpture  and  statuary  which  still  tell  the  story  of  the  two 
uses  of  the  Pantheon.  A  short  street  from  St.  Genevieve  leads  to  the  Gardens  and 
Palace  of  Luxembourg,  facing  a  broad,  straight  avenue  running  to  the  Palace  of  the 
Institute.  Luxembourg  was  built  by  Marie  de  Me"dicis,  in  the  Florentine  style.  It  is 
adorned  with  pillars,  and  consists  of  pavilions  which  are  no  longer  royal  apartments, 
but  have  been  converted  into  the  use  of  galleries  for  paintings  and  works  of  art  by  great 


92 


Cities  of  the  World. 


artists,  and  to  the  Senate  during  the  building  of  the  new  Hotel  de  Ville.  The  halls  and 
galleries  and  other  parts  of  the  palace  are  of  handsome  size  and  beautifully  decorated. 
The  grounds,  representing  the  famous  Boboli  Gardens  at  Florence,  are  the  only  ones 
in  Paris  which  have  been  allowed  to  remain  in  the  Renaissance  style.  They  are  laid 
out  with  lawns,  marble  fountains,  flower-beds,  balustrades,  steps,  terraces,  shade  trees 
and  statues,  through  which  an  avenue  runs  to  the  celebrated  observatory  of  Paris. 
This  is  a  very  important  little  place  in  connection  with  the  science  of  astronomy,  and 


MILLER. 


FISH    SALESWOMAN. 


MASON. 


GASMAN. 


COMMISSAIRE. 


WASHERWOMAN. 


MECHANIC.    PERAMBULATING  PLUMBER. 


contains  a  rare  museum  of  instruments  over  which  astronomers  pore  with  delight, 
especially  the  great  parallactic  telescope  in  the  copper  dome.  The  meridian  of  Paris 
runs  through  the  center  of  the  Observatory,  which  is  connected  by  telegraph  with 
others  of  the  greatest  importance  in  Europe. 

Beside  all  the  gayety  and  all  the  grandeur  in  Paris,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  industry 


NEW    BRIDGE    AND    THE    BELLE    JARDINIERE. 


NEW    BRIDGE. 


94  Cities  of  the  World. 

and  hard  work.  There  are  over  two  millions  of  people  to  live  and  be  supported 
here.  The  majority  of  them  earn  their  own  living,  save  money  and  are  happy.  An 
immense  trade  is  carried  on  at  the  shops  and  stores,  while  in  making  rich  and  costly 
fabrics  Paris  leads  the  world.  There  are  many  factories  of  all  kinds  throughout  the 
city,  but  particularly  for  watches,  clocks,  scientific  instruments,  silks,  valuable  shawls, 
and  the  famous  Gobelins  tapestries,  which  have  been  standing  in  the  same  place  in 
the  southern  part  of  Paris  since  1450. 

Paris  fancy  goods,  known  as  articles  de  Paris,  are  a  special  branch  of  trade. 
and  are  made  with  so  much  refined  taste  that  they  are  always  in  demand ;  but 
about  every  kind  of  French  manufactures  have  the  peculiarity  of  elegance  in 
form  and  color,  cheapness  and  durability.  There  are  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  artisans  in  Paris,  who,  whatever  their  trade,  labor  with  clever 
hands  and  fine  judgment  for  pay  that  ranges  from  eighty  cents  to  a  dollar  and  a 
quarter  per  day ;  but  some,  especially  quick  and  able,  make  as  much  as  four  dollars 
a  day ;  there  are  all  sorts  of  people  at  work  here,  artists,  scholars,  merchants, 
mechanics  and  laborers,  from  all  nations.  Paris  boasts  of  being  the  most  cosmopolitan 
city  in  Europe,  with  all  that  is  remarkable  and  characteristic  of  the  entire  French 
nation  gathered  in  and  about  it.  The  great  walls  and  moat  make  it  a  gigantic  fortress. 
Round  it  lie  a  number  of  independent  forts,  each  with  a  history  dear  to  the  people, 
whether  of  glorious  victories  or  sad  defeats  ;  and  adjacent  are  famous  parks  and 
chateaux.  At  St.  Denis,  on  the  north,  is  the  Cathedral  La  Basilique,  once  the  burial 
place  of  the  French  kings  ;  on  the  west  lies  the  palace  and  garden  of  St.  Cloud,  the 
favorite  residence  of  the  Napoleons,  where  many  important  conferences  were  held, 
and  great  events  that  affected  the  entire  government  started ;  on  the  south-west 
is  old  Versailles,  which  has  been  associated  with  long  chapters  of  the  public  and  private 
history  of  the  French  Court  ever  since  1682.  The  magnificence  of  the  chateaux,  Grand 
Trianon,  Petit  Trianon,  and  all  the  palaces,  the  gardens,  the  celebrated  fountains  which 
grace  this  town  and  noble  park, — these  alone  repay  many  a  traveler  who  has  crossed 
high  seas  for  the  sight  of  Paris  ;  still  further  south  is  Fontainebleau,  splendid  and 
beautiful  now,  with  wonderful  associations  of  three  centuries  clinging  to  its  massive 
walls  and  verdant  surroundings.  The  extensive  palace,  made  out  of  a  medieval  fortress 
in  the  first  part  of  1500,  stands  at  the  south-west  side  of  the  town  of  Fontainebleau  in 
"  the  most  beautiful  forest  in  France." 

To  the  French  people  all  these  environs,  with  their  valuable  museums  and 
galleries,  are  as  a  part  of  the  beloved  capital,  the  grandest,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most 
desirable  place  in  the  world.  "  The  whole  nation  is  accustomed  to  be  governed  from 
that  center,  to  follow  every  movement  that  originates  there,  whether  it  leads  to  revolution, 
to  monarchy,  to  imperialism,  or  to  republicanism."  Long  live  the  Republic! 


Lyons. 


95 


Lyons  is  the  most  important  manufacturing  city  of  France,  and,  after  Paris,  the  largest. 
It  stands  where  a  long,  low  and  narrow  peninsula  has  been  made  by  the  rivers  Rhone 
and  Sa6ne.  At  the  southern  end  of  the  town  the  Rhone  receives  the  waters  of  the 
Sadne  and  then  flows  directly  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Lyons,  on  the  Mediterranean. 
The  city  extends  to  the  low  hills  surrounding  the  peninsula,  and  is  encircled  by  a  wall 
of  fortifications  thirteen  miles  long.  From  the  rivers,  gradually  becoming  less  closely 


LYON. 

set  with  buildings — some  of  which  are  large  and  handsome,  others  small  and  old — the 
town  stretches  out  toward  beautiful  vineyards,  gardens  and  villas.  Water-ways  and  rail- 
ways branching  from  it  show  Lyons  to  be  an  important  commercial  city,  and  the  looms, 
factories  and  markets  tell  that  its  trade  is  chiefly  its  own  manufactures  and  the  products 
of  the  vicinity.  Silk  stuffs  of  all  kinds  made  here  are  the  most  important  in  the  world  ; 
while  in  other  mills  are  made  nets,  cotton  goods,  blankets  and  hats  ;  and  some  factories 


9  6  Cities  of  the  World. 

and  shops  supply  a  large  trade  in  gold  and  silver  lace,  chemicals,  drugs,  liquors,  earthen 
ware  and  other  things.  This  busy  town  has  about  four  hundred  thousand  people  living 
in  it,  about  as  many  as  Birmingham,  and  more  than  our  own  Boston  in  Massachusetts. 
The  two  rivers  are  crossed  by  twelve  bridges  over  the  Saone,  to  the  western  part  of  the 
city  ;  and  by  seven  over  the  Rhone,  which  lies  to  the  eastward.  There  are  about  thirty 
quays  lining  the  four  banks,  to  accommodate  the  large  traffic  which  centers  at  Lyons, 
the  "  great  warehouse  of  Southern  France  and  Switzerland." 

Soon  after  entering  the  city  the  Saone  makes  a  bold  eastward  curve  toward  the  Rhone 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Fourvieres,  on  the  west  bank.  Convents,  hospitals  and  semina- 
ries stand  here  overlooking  the  town,  while  high  above  all,  on  the  summit,  is  the  famous 
cathedral,  Notre  Dame  de  Fourvieres,  visited  by  one  and  one-half  million  pilgrims  every 
year.  It  stands  over  four  hundred  feet  high,  and  has  been  called  Fourvieres  from  the 
ancient  forum,  which  stood  on  the  spot  in  the  days  of  the  Romans,  who  occupied  the  town 
about  fifty  years  before  Christ.  The  interesting  old  church,  with  its  lofty  tower  and 
figure  of  the  Virgin,  two  hundred  feet  high  in  air,  was  built  in  the  ninth  century.  From 
this  hill  the  view  of  Lyons  is  very  fine.  Below  are  the  splendid  quays,  full  of  merchan- 
dise, crowded  with  ships  and  busy  people  ;  opposite  is  the  narrowest  part  of  the  peninsula, 
except  where  the  rivers  meet,  and  the  principal  part  of  the  city  in  the  great  square, 
called  the  Terreaux.  Here  are  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  famous  throughout  the  Republic  for 
its  size  and  beauty  ;  the  Opera  House  and  the  Palais  St.  Pierre,  which  was  once  a 
convent  but  is  now  an  institute  for  science  and  literature,  the  art  school  and  library, 
picture  gallery,  and  museums  of  sculpture,  archeology  and  natural  history.  Broad, 
straight  streets  and  public  squares,  with  fine  buildings,  extend  southward  to  the 
great  Belle  Cour,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  squares  in  Europe.  On  the  east  and 
on  the  west  are  large  monumental  fronts,  while  in  the  center  is  a  statue  of  Louis  XIV. 
on  horseback.  Along  the  quay,  past  the  Cour,  is  the  fine  old  military  hospital  of  Hotel 
Dieu.  Other  places,  broad  avenues  and  fine  buildings  in  this  vicinity  extend  to  the 
Perache  Quarter,  which  is  the  aristocratic  part  of  Lyons,  and  about  half-way  from 
Fourvieres  to  the  meeting  place  of  the  rivers.  Below  are  the  railway  station,  docks  and 
factories,  prison  and  arsenal,  not  beautiful  parts  of  Lyons,  but  full  of  life  and  interest. 
Across  the  Rhone  from  this  lower  part  of  the  city  is  a  wretched  quarter  of  working- 
men's  houses,  crowded  with  old  buildings  eight  or  ten  stories  high,  through  which  it 
seems  impossible  to  put  any  broad  thoroughfare  ;  but  above,  opposite  the  Terreaux,  is 
the  long  range  of  medical  college  buildings,  and,  extending  to  the  eastward,  the  newer 
part  of  the  city,  with  fine,  broad  streets,  comfortable  and  even  handsome  blocks  of 
houses.  It  is  not  far  from  this  pleasant  quarter  of  Lyons — which  is  growing  very  fast — 
that  the  city  park  lies,  being  north-eastward  from  the  Terreaux.  The  Pare  du  Tete 
d'Or,  with  its  lawns  and  trees,  its  botanical  and  pharmaceutical  gardens,  green-houses  of 
orchids,  palm  trees  and  rare  plants,  and  its  cages  of  wild  animals,  covers  almost  as  much 


Marseilles. 


97 


ground  as  Hyde  Park,  in  London,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in  France.  On 
the  whole  it  is  a  stately  city  that  lies  here  upon  the  rivers,  within  the  circle  of  the 
garden-covered  hills ;  fine  old  Roman  aqueducts  tell  of  ancient  palmy  days,  while 
crowded  quays,  bustling  streets  and  smoke  curling  from  a  hundred  chimneys  bespeak 
for  Lyons  a  growth  with  the  times,  and  greater  wealth,  life  and  importance  to-day  than  ever 
before.  Although  Lyons  is  about  two  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  it  is  constantly  in 


MARSEILLES. 

communication  with  it,  through  large  vessels  which  make  their  way  back  and  forth,  up 
and  down  the  rapid,  picturesque  stream.  The  Rhone  enters  the  Gulf  of  Lyons  so  near 
Marseilles  that  the  river  may  almost  be  said  to  flow  from  the  largest  manufacturing  city 
of  the  Republic  to  its  greatest  seaport.  The  entrance  to  Marseilles  is  guarded  by  three 
fortified  islands  and  marked  by  light-houses.  Here,  outside,  are  also  great  docks  or 
basins,  extending  for  over  a  mile,  and  including  about  a  hundred  acres,  with  magnificent 


98  Cities  of  the  World. 

great  warehouses  looming  up  behind  them.  Now,  a  round  peninsula  is  seen  standing 
out  on  the  right  side,  with  its  military  parade  ;  beyond  is  the  Chateau  du  Pharo,  which 
Napoleon  III.  built  himself  for  a  marine  villa ;  now  the  narrow  strait  is  reached, 
guarded  on  the  north  by  Fort  St.  Jean  and  on  the  south  by  Fort  St.  Nicklas  ;  beyond  is 
the  inlet,  running  right  up  into  the  heart  of  the  town.  This  is  the  famous  Old  Harbor, 
or  Port  of  Marseilles,  and,  lying  around  like  the  seats  of  an  amphitheater,  is  the  ancient 
town — the  Massilia  which  Julius  Caesar  took  from  the  Greeks  after  they  had  occupied 
it  for  more  than  six  hundred  years.  The  Port  covers  nearly  seventy  acres,  and  can 
accommodate  twelve  hundred  vessels.  Altogether  the  harbor  of  Marseilles,  old  and  new, 
has  an  area  of  nearly  five  hundred  acres  and  four  and  a  half  miles  of  quays,  which,  it  is 
said,  is  not  enough  for  the  immense  traffic  of  the  city.  From  the  margin  of  the  inlet 
the  ground,  rising  on  all  sides,  is  thickly  set  with  buildings  and  encircled  beyond  by  hills 
covered  by  vineyards  and  olive  gardens,  dotted  here  and  there  with  white  country 
houses.  The  old  town  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  inlet,  with  the  spire  of  the  ancient 
Church  of  Accoules  marking  the  center.  At  the  foot  of  the  spire  is  a  "  Calvary," 
and  a  curious  modern  chapel  built  in  rock-work.  Here  the  old  streets  are  narrow 
and  closely  lined  with  irregularly-built  houses  ;  but  few  ancient  buildings  or  even  ruins  now 
remain.  There  is  the  new  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  of  Mount  Carmel  in  about  the 
center,  near  the  coast ;  standing  where  the  Massilian  citadel  did  when  besieged  by 
Caesar,  it  is  on  the  site  once  occupied  by  a  temple  to  Diana,  and  before  then  by  an  altar 
of  Baal.  The  cathedral  is  scarcely  finished  now.  It  is  built  of  gray  Florentine  stone, 
blended  with  white,  a  Byzantine  basilica  in  the  form  of  a  great  Latin  cross.  The 
Bishop's  Palace  is  near  by  and  a  grand  seminary,  both  fine  buildings,  which  are  connected 
with  the  newer  part  of  the  town  by  a  few  broad  modern  streets,  that  have  been 
pushed  through  the  old  quarters.  The  main  thoroughfare  of  Marseilles  extends  through 
the  center  of  the  city  to  the  eastern  outskirts,  from  the  inner  end  of  the  harbor.  On 
this,  near  the  Port,  is  the  Bourse,  with  its  Corinthian  portico  and  sculptured  vestibule 
and  handsome  interior,  larger  than  the  Bourse  of  Paris.  The  Hall  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  is  the  finest  part  of  the  building,  its  walls  being  magnificently  decorated  with 
paintings  and  gildings.  The  main  street  crosses  many  other  fine  and  busy  avenues, 
containing  great  stores,  cafe's  and  restaurants,  some  of  which  are  almost  as  splendid  as 
those  of  Paris  ;  at  the  upper  end  is  the  Longchamps  Palace  of  Arts,  which  was  built 
about  fifteen  years  ago.  With  its  two  long  pillared  wings  and  the  beautiful  fountain 
in  the  center  this  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  of  La  Belle  France. 
The  terminus  of  the  Marseilles  Canal  is  here,  and  bringing  the  waters  of  the  Durance 
into  the  city,  have  made  the  dry  and  bare  suburbs  into  blooming,  fertile  gardens. 
The  second  great  thoroughfare  of  Marseilles  runs  the  length  of  the  town  and 
crosses  the  first  above  the  Bourse.  It  extends  from  the  triumphal  arch  of  the  Aix 
Gate  at  the  north  to  the  opposite  suburbs,  where  the  broad  Prado  Promenades  make 


Marseilles. 


99 


an  angle  near  the  Hippodrome  and  the  park  of  the  Palais  Bore"ly,  where  all  the  Grecian 
remains  of  Marseilles  are  collected.  Toward  the  sea  from  here  the  rocky  hill  of  Notre 
Dame  de  la  Garde  is  seen,  one  of  the  most  venerated  churches  on  the  Mediterranean 
shores.  Sailors  look  with  devotion  toward  the  gilded  dome  and  statue  of  the  virgin 
holding  the  Infant  Jesus  in  her  left  arm  and  extending  the  other  toward  them  in 
blessing.  Within,  this  Byzantine  shrine  is  filled  with  the  votive  offerings  of  sailors, 


FOUNTAIN    OF    LONGCHAMPS   PALACE    OF    ARTS,    MARSEILLES. 

fishermen  and  their  wives  :  miniature  ships  and  ostrich  eggs  hang  from  the  ceiling, 
while  many  other  quaint  and  strange  gifts  are  seen  from  grateful  souls  long  since 
passed  away.  On  both  sides  of  the  steps  below  Notre  Dame  are  shops  and  booths, 
with  medals,  chaplets,  and  other  objects  of  devotion  for  sale. 

It  is  on  this  side  of  the  port  and  in  the  southern  half  of  the  city  that  the  handsome 
streets  and  buildings  of  Marseilles  are  seen.  On  the  Rue  St.  Fevreol  is  the  palace-like  build- 


100 


Cities  of  the  World. 


ing  of  the  new  Hotel  de  la  Prefecture,  adorned  with  statues  and  bas  reliefs,  and  containing 
a  fine  staircase,  a  large  reception  room,  decorated  with  paintings.  On  the  Rue  Paradis  is 
the  Palais  de  Justice,  with  fine  pediment  and  peristyle  decorated  with  bas  reliefs,  and 


NOTRE   DAME    DE    LA    GARDE,    MARSEILLES. 

outer  hall  surrounded  by  pillars  of  red  marble.  The  imposing  new  School  of  Art  is  near 
the  center  of  the  city,  with  the  Library  and  other  notable  educational  institutions.  The 
other  parts  of  Marseilles,  although  not  so  imposing,  do  their  share  toward  the  beauty  of 
the  city  by  their  brisk  trade  in  shipping  and  manufacturing,  which  employ  thousands  of 
people  and  bring  in  a  great  deal  of  money.  In  population  it  is  about  as  large  as  Lyons, 


Nimes,   Toulouse  and  Bordeaux. 


101 


but  being  the  packet  station  for  Italy  and  the  East,  and  connecting  with  many 
cities  by  rail,  it  has  also  a  large  number  of  transient  stayers,  people  who  are  constantly 
coming  and  going. 

Marseilles  in  the  South  of  France  is  connected  by  rail  with  Bordeaux  in  the 
western  part  of  the  country, 
which  is  the  fourth  city  of 
the  Republic.  One  of  the 
two  most  interesting  cities  on 
the  route  is  Mimes,  with  its 
Roman  ruins  and  busy  mills. 
It  is  made  up  of  three  hand- 
some suburbs  and  a  dirty  little 
town,  where  ten  thousand 
looms  are  constantly  at  work 
in  weaving  silk  and  cotton. 
Among  the  beautiful  remains 
of  Roman  buildings  are  the 
Amphitheater,  the  Maison  Car- 
ree,  of  the  Corinthian  style, 


AMPHITHEATER,  NIMES. 

the  Temple  and  Fount- 
ain of  Diana,  the  Great 
Tower,  baths,  and  two 
Roman  Gates.  The  Pont 
du  Gard  is  the  fine  old 
ruin  of  an  aqueduct,  also 
built  by  the  Romans.  In 
ancient  days  Nimes  was 
one  of  the  chief  cities  of 


MAISON    CARREE,    NIMES. 

pally  given  up  to  making  shawls,  handkerchiefs  and  lace,  besides  brandy,  wines 
and  other  things,  and  has  scarcely  seventy  thousand  people.  Toulouse,  further 
west,  is  much  larger,  having  about  as  many  inhabitants  as  Washington,  the  capital  of  the 
United  States,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  This,  too,  is  an  old  city,  with  a 


IO2  Cities  of  the   World. 

cathedral,  a  fine  town  hall,  called  the  Capitole,  and  a  great  many  schools,  academies  and 
museums,  besides  a  large  public  library.  The  city  is  celebrated  for  duck-liver  and 
truffle  pies  ;  its  manufactures  are  woolens,  silks  and  leather,  cannon,  steam  engines  and 
other  things.  It  is  nearer  to  Spain  than  any  other  large  city  of  France,  and  so  has  a 
large  trade  with  the  kingdom  across  the  Pyrenees.  Toulouse  stands  near  the  head  waters 
of  the  river  Garonne,  about  two  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  Bordeaux.  This  city  lies  near  the  western  coast  of  France,  in  about  the  same 
latitude  as  Bangor.  Maine,  or  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  which  is  nearly  midway  between 
Lyons  and  Marseilles.  It  is  mostly  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Garonne,  and  in  shape 
very  much  like  a  broad,  old-fashioned  lace  collar,  with  meshes  of  spacious  squares  made 
by  handsome  streets  and  avenues  running  in  every  direction,  and  surrounded  by  a  broad 
and  beautiful  boulevard.  At  high  tide  vessels  of  a  thousand  tons  can  come  up  from  the 
sea  into  the  capacious  harbor,  where  the  river  expands  to  a  width  of  two  thousand  feet. 
The  splendid  sweep  of  this  water  front  is  one  of  the  sights  of  Europe,  with  its  fine  quays 
and  great  buildings,  from  above  which  an  antique  spire  and  great  Gothic  towers  cast 
their  shadows  over  a  forest  of  shipping  and  one  of  the  most  magnificent  stone  bridges  in 
France.  The  heart  of  the  town  is  the  Place  des  Quinconces,  fronting  on  the  river,  with 
two  lofty  columns,  and  opening  into  fine  avenues  and  streets  leading  in  all  directions. 
Here  are  the  principal  hotels,  warehouses  and  public  offices  of  the  city,  which  are  all 
large  and  attractive-looking  buildings.  The  Grand  Theater  is  particularly  noted,  with 
its  portico  of  Corinthian  columns  and  beautiful  Italian  architecture.  Adjoining  the  Place 
beyond  is  the  "  Cours  of  the  3oth  of  July,"  a  short  but  very  wide  avenue  connecting 
the  main  thoroughfares  from  all  parts  of  the  city,  and  leading  to  the  Jardin  des  Plantes. 
This  is  a  public  garden  which  also  has  a  botanical  garden  and  large  conservatories. 
Near  by  are  picture  galleries,  a  collection  of  armor  and  war  weapons  of  all  ages,  a 
museum  of  antiquities  and  cabinets  of  natural  history,  showing  shells,  birds,  fossils  and 
marbles,  which  are  very  valuable  and  interesting.  Bordeaux  was  a  prosperous  and 
important  town  in  the  days  of  the  Romans  in  Gaul,  who  built  a  great  amphitheater 
here,  the  arches  of  which  are  still  standing  near  the  Gardens.  The  northern  part  is 
new  and  openly  built,  a  "  sprawling  city  "  ;  beyond  the  great  cross-town  thoroughfare, 
south  of  the  Place  Quinconces,  are  old  streets,  narrow  and  thickly  settled,  but  among 
which  several  broad  new  avenues  have  been  laid  out.  This  is  the  business  part ;  on  the 
quay  is  the  Bourse,  with  its  great  glass  dome,  and  beyond,  at  the  head  of  a  magnificent 
promenade  leading  from  the  bridge  is  the  ancient  Palace  Gate,  which  in  olden  times  was 
the  entrance  to  the  Palace,  where  Louis  XI.  established  the  Parliament  of  Bordeaux. 
This  promenade,  called  the  Cours  Napoleon,  extends  to  the  most  notable  group  of  build- 
ings in  the  city,  near  the  south-eastern  limits.  These  include,  among  others,  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  St.  Andre's  Hospital  and  the  old  Cathedral,  with  its  tall  Gothic  spires,  pointed 
portal,  beautiful  rose  window,  statues  and  bas  reliefs.  Part  of  the  Cathedral  of  St. 


Nantes,  Havre  and  Rouen. 


103 


Andre  was  built  by  the  English,  who,  about  a  century  after  the  Norman  conquest,  took 
possession  of  Bordeaux  and  held  it  for  three  hundred  years.  The  brilliant  court 
of  the  Black  Prince  was  held  in  the  palace,  and  in  the  cathedral  Richard  II.  of 
England  was  christened.  The  great  tower,  detached  from  St.  Andre's  but  near  by,  is 
the  Tour  de  Pey  Berland.  It  is  two  hundred  feet  high.  The  square  buttresses  which  sup- 
port it  at  the  base  gradually  grow  less,  and  the  tower  becomes  circular  at  the  top,  where  it 
is  crowned  by  an  immense  statue  of  the  Virgin  and  Child.  A  great  deal  of  the  business 


BORDEAUX. 

of  the  city  is  connected  with  its  commerce.  There  are  courts,  banks,  offices  and  ware- 
houses in  great  numbers  ;  railways  and  canals  employ  many  people  in  the  trades  of  the 
celebrated  Bordeaux  wines,  or  claret,  corn,  fruit  and  produce  of  the  farms  and  vineyards 
of  Southern  France  ;  the  most  important  manufacture  of  the  town  is  ship-building  ;  the 
foreign  trade  is  mainly  with  the  United  States,  South  America  and  Mexico,  Great  Britain 
and  the  French  colonies.  Nantes,  further  north,  near  the  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 


IO4  Cities  of  the  World. 

is  on  a  deep  harbor  near  the  mouth  of  the  Loire  river.  It  has  nearly  ?ne  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  people,  but,  although  having  but  about  one-naif  the  population  of 
Bordeaux,  it  is  next  to  it  in  importance,  and  in  some  parts  rivals  the  beauty  of  Paris 
itself.  Among  the  most  striking  buildings  are  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Pierre,  with  its 
splendid  monuments  ;  the  old  castle,  which  was  built  in  938  and  has  been  the  temporary 
residence  of  nearly  all  the  kings  and  queens  of  France  since  Charles  VIII.  Nantes 
stands  on  a  noble  part  of  the  Loire,  where  the  channel  is  studded  with  islands  ;  many 
bridges  span  its  various  branches,  and  fair,  green  meadows  skirt  its  shores.  The  quays 
are  pleasant  promenades,  lined  with  houses  and  planted  with  trees,  and  the  broad  Cours 
which  extend  through  the  city  are  bordered  with  elegant  houses,  and  ornamented  with 
statues  and  several  rows  of  trees.  The  import  and  export  trade  is  large  and  the  indus- 
tries of  the  little  city  are  almost  as  many  as  those  of  Birmingham  in  England.  Besides 
the  linens,  cotton,  calicoes  and  flannels  spun  here,  there  is  a  very  different  kind  of  occu- 
pation which  employs  many  people  in  making  musical  and  scientific  instruments,  and 
still  others,  in  refining  sugar  and  salt,  making  chemicals,  distilling  brandy,  and  in  foun- 
dries, tanneries  and  ship-building.  The  great  seaport  at  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  is 
Le  Havre,  or  the  Harbor,  which,  next  to  Marseilles,  is  the  most  important  commercial 
town  in  France,  being  also  the  port  of  Paris.  The  population  of  Le  Havre  is  scarcely  a 
hundred  thousand,  but  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  foreign  trade  of  France  is  centered  here. 
It  has  lines  of  vessels  running  to  nearly  every  large  port  in  the  world,  and  railroads  to 
all  parts  of  the  Republic  and  to  Germany.  It  has  also  large  manufactories  in  many 
important  articles  of  trade,  and  the  great  shipyards  send  out  the  finest  vessels  of  France. 
From  the  heights  on  the  northern  side  of  Havre,  where  from  the  pretty  suburbs  of  villas 
and  gardens  a  fine  view  of  the  town  and  harbor  is  to  be  had,  the  streets  are  regularly  laid 
out  in  squares,  with  the  Rue  de  Paris,  running  north  and  south,  the  center  of  traffic. 
At  the  head  of  it  stand  the  Public  Gardens  and  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  built  in  the  style  of 
the  Tuileries,  and  near  the  lower  end,  toward  the  outer  port,  is  the  famous  old  church 
of  Notre  Dame,  which  was  built  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Great  basins  of  water,  sur- 
rounded by  broad  quays  and  overlooked  by  commercial  offices,  stretch  from  the  harbor 
into  the  center  of  the  town. 

Scarcely  half  way  from  Havre  to  Paris,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Seine,  stands 
the  ancient  capital  of  Normandy,  Rouen  the  most  picturesque  city  of  France.  The  town 
is  forever  associated  with  the  memory  of  Joan  of  Arc,  the  heroic  Maid  of  Orleans,  whom 
the  English  are  said  to  have  burned  alive  in  1431  in  the  city  square,  now  called 
Place  de  la  Pucelle.  The  history  of  Rouen  has  been  very  eventful  since  the  days 
of  the  Northmen,  who  made  it  their  capital  in  842,  and  even  after  the  sackings  of  the 
Huguenot  wars  and  the  Revolution,  is  now  more  rich  in  ancient  architecture  than  any 
other  city  of  France.  The  old  ramparts  have  been  made  into  broad,  tree-lined  boule- 
vards ;  some  of  the  new  streets  are  lined  with  fine,  modern  stone  houses ;  but  for  the 


Rouen  and  Lille. 


most  part  Rouen  is  a  city  of  ill-built  but  picturesque  streets  and  squares,  with  tall, 
narrow  and  quaintly-carved  houses,  timber-bound  and  gable-roofed.  The  unsymmetrical 
old  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  is  a  grand  piece  of  ancient  Gothic  architecture,  with  its 
lofty  towers,  ornamented  chapels  and  carved  statuary.  There  are  fine  rose  windows  in 
the  cathedral,  memorial  figures  and  tablets,  and  in  the  museum  of  antiquities  the  heart 
of  the  Cceur  de  Lion  is  preserved,  which  was  originally  buried  beneath  the  choir. 
Among  the  other  interesting  buildings  of  Rouen  are  the  Tower  of  Joan  of  Arc,  where  in 


HAVRE. 

the  ancient  citadel  built  by  Philip  Augustus  some  time  in  1260,  the  soldier-maid  was 
imprisoned  ;  the  Church  of  St.  Patricia,  with  its  gorgeous  colored  windows  two  hundred 
years  old  ;  the  Palais  de  Justice,  a  picturesque  pile  lining  three  sides  of  a  square  ;  the 
Belfry  is  a  tower  of  the  fourteenth  century,  connected  by  an  arched  bridge  across  the 
street  with  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  These  stand  upon  the  Grande  Rue,  with  its  cluster  of 
quaint,  interesting  houses,  close  together.  The  Hotel  du  Bourgtheroulde  is  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  represents  the  scene  on  the  "  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold "  in 
reliefs,  while  its  graceful  six-sided  tower  is  sculptured  with  scripture  subjects.  But  the 


io6 


Cities  of  the  World. 


most  interesting  of  all  these  medieval  buildings  is  the  Church  of  St.  Ouen,  which  surpasses 
the  cathedral  in  beauty  and  size.  Although  nearly  a  hundred  years  passed  in  the  erec- 
tion of  St.  Ouen,  the  plans  were  not  changed,  and  one  of  its  greatest  charms  is  that  it 
all  seems  to  belong  together, — or  its  harmony,  as  architects  say.  The  tower  is  over  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  surmounted  by  an  eight-sided,  open-work  lantern  and  a 


PALACE  OF  JUSTICE,  ROUEN. 

gallery  from  which  there  is  a  fine  view.  The  portals  are  adorned  with  statues  and 
reliefs  ;  above  is  a  magnificent  rose  window,  and  still  higher  an  arcade  with  eleven 
statues,  crowned  by  a  pediment  bearing  a  figure  of  St.  Ouen,  Archbishop  of  Rouen. 
Rouen  is  growing  to  a  large  importance  in  trade  now.  In  manufacturing  it  stands 
among  the  foremost  cities,  with  large  products  in  cotton,  checked  and  striped  goods  and 
cotton  yarn  and  velvets  ;  in  nankeen,  dimity,  lace,  shawls  and  hosiery,  and  also  in  wool 


Rouen  and  Lille.  107 

fabrics,  yarns,  blankets  and  flannels,  besides  hats  and  cordage,  steel,  shot,  lead,  chem- 
icals and  paper,  and  in  building  ships  and  machinery.  There  are  about  as  many  people 
in  Rouen  as  in  Albany,  New  York,  a  hundred  and  five  thousand.  The  most  important 
city  in  the  extreme  north  of  France  is  Lille,  once  called  L'Isle,  or  The  Island.  It  is 
fortified  and  kept  as  one  of  the  chief  defenses  of  the  north,  and  is  named  from  the  castle 
which  once  stood  in  the  midst  of  salt  marshes,  and  around  which  the  town  grew.  Lille 
has  a  modern  appearance  of  wide  streets  and  imposing  squares  and  houses.  The  Bourse, 
richly  ornamented  in  the  Spanish  style  ;  the  five-sided  old  citadel  with  its  splendid 
equipments  in  case  of  need,  and  the  Church  of  St.  Maurice,  are  all  fine  and  interesting. 
The  tall  chimneys  of  numerous  mills  show  the  activity  of  the  town,  which  is  chiefly  manu- 
facturing and  twisting  flax  into  the  celebrated  Lille  or  Lisle  thread,  extracting  oil  from  rape 
and  poppy  seeds,  and  manufacturing  sugar  from  beet-root.  To  these  industries  the  neigh- 
boring country  contributes  in  raising  flax  and  other  products  and  bringing  them  ready 
to  use  into  town.  Lille  has  about  two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  making  it  the  fifth 
city  of  the  Republic.  The  Newcastle  of  France  is  St.  Etienne.  It  is  a  short  distance 
from  Lyons,  and  surrounded  by  coal  beds,  and  has  been  mined  until  the  streets  of  the 
town  stand  upon  galleries.  Its  mills  for  tempering  iron  and  steel  are  supplied  with 
water  from  the  Furens,  a  branch  of  the  Loire,  upon  which  St.  Etienne  is  situated, 
always  shrouded  in  smoke.  Most  of  the  town  is  badly  built ;  but  it  can  not  even  derive 
any  beauty  from  the  immense  new  lime-stone  buildings,  which  are,  some  of  them,  six  and 
eight  stories  high,  for  they  are  soon  tarnished  and  begrimed  from  the  factories  ;  there 
are  also  great  quantities  of  rich  and  beautiful  ribbons,  velvets  and  laces  made  here  for 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  firearms,  bayonets  and  all  kinds  of  steel  and  iron  implements. 
In  population  it  is  about  the  size  of  Nantes. 


GERMANY. 


THE  most  important  kingdom  of  the  German  Empire  is  Prussia,  and  Berlin,  itscapi. 
tal,  is  the  seat  of  the  imperial  government.  The  city  stands  nearly  in  the  center 
of  Northern  Germany,  on  a  level,  sandy  plain  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Oder  rivers,  with 
the  smaller  streams  and  lakes  of  the  Havel  to  the  west.  The  brqad,  sluggish  Spree,  flowing 
across  it,  enters  Berlin  on  the  south-east,  and,  after  separating  so  as  to  form  a  long  island 
in  the  center,  unites  again,  and  flows  out  through  the  north-western  quarters.  These 
rivers,  and  the  canals  they  feed,  form  a  system  of  water-ways  in  and  about  Berlin  extend- 
ing to  the  Baltic  and  the  North  seas,  which,  with  the  still  more  important  net-work  of 
railroads  centering  at  the  capital,  makes  it  a  great  headquarters  for  the  art  and  industry 
of  western  Europe  and  the  natural  products  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent,  at 
the  same  time  drawing  to  it  the  town  manufactures  of  the  Empire,  besides  petroleum, 
metals  and  many  more  of  the  rich  country  products.  These  are  for  Berlin's  own  use 
and  for  shipment  to  other  markets  far  and  wide,  so  that  the  German  capital  now  ranks 
among  the  most  important  markets  of  Europe.  It  also  attracts  greatness  in  art,  works 
of  science  and  literature,  but  even  more  than  these,  great  men.  So  many  celebrated 
scholars  and  teachers,  and  people  famous  for  their  powers  of  mind  live  here,  that  it  is 
called  the  world's  Capital  of  Intelligence.  Although  more  than  six  centuries  old,  nearly 
every  part  of  Berlin  seems  to  be  as  modern  as  New  York.  It -is  about  the  same  size  as 
our  own  metropolis,  but  with  fewer  people  :  the  population  of  Berlin  being  about  one 
million  two  hundred  thousand.  This  makes  it  the  third  city  of  Europe  and  the  sixth  of 
the  world.  Like  most  German  towns  it  shows  very  plainly  that  it  has  spread  out  to  its 
present  size  from  the  small  original  settlement  in  the  center.  In  Berlin  the  "  old  town  " 
is  marked  by  the  lowest  houses,  some  of  the  most  extensive  buildings,  and  greatest 
activity  and  life.  Gradually  the  streets  grow  longer  and  the  houses  higher,  till  the  far 
reaching  suburbs  stretch  up  to  the  hill-sides  in  regular  blocks  of  six-story  dwellings,  and 
the  tumult  of  business  or  social  life  is  gradually  lost  in  districts  of  great  factories  or  in 
broad,  tree-planted  streets  lined  with  aristocratic  homes.  Some  of  these  are  plain,  others 
magnificent  ;  but  no  part  dwindles  away  into  tumble-down  hovels,  dirty  sheds  or  rook- 
eries. Berlin  is  made  up  of  many  quarters,  called  stddte,  differing  widely,  but  all  thrifty 
and  progressive,  for  this  is  a  city  of  the  present.  The  people  are  living  for  what  they 


no  Cities  of  the    World. 

can  do  now  ;  they  preserve  with  care  and  honor  what  their  fathers  have  done,  but  in  a 
way  to  make  their  monuments  and  treasures  give  service,  enjoyment  or  education  to  the 
living  nation. 

Berliners  are  nearly  all  Germans  ;  the  capitals  of  other  countries  are  made  up  of 
people  from  everywhere,  but  in  that  of  Prussia,  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  were 
born  in  the  land, — true  Germans,  full  of  life  and  push,  hard  working  and  loving  pleasure. 
For  this  last  there  is  plenty  of  provision  in  gardens,  promenades,  concert  halls  and  theaters. 
Among  the  most  attractive  of  all  the  city  resorts  is  the  great  park  called  the  Thiergarten. 
When  Berlin  was  a  smaller  city  than  it  is  now  this  lay  on  the  western  outskirts  ;  but  now 
it  is  close  to  the  center  and  adjacent  to  the  most  fashionable  part  of  town.  The  vast 
pleasure  ground  is  about  twice  the  size  of  Hyde  Parkin  London,  and  nearly  three  times  as 
long  as  it  is  wide.  It  is  more  than  six  hundred  acres  taken  out  of  a  natural  forest  and 
graded  with  smooth  lawns,  set  with  flower  beds  and  beautiful  statues.  The 
grand  old  trees  still  stand  in  groves  and,  bordering  fine  promenades  and  winding 
paths,  cast  their  deep  shade  or  moving  shadows  on  many  pretty  streams  and  lakes, 
especially  in  the  western  end,  called  the  See  Park,  and  around  the  Rousseau 
Island.  This  is  never  so  gay  as  in  winter,  when  the  ground  is  covered 
with  snow,  and  the  glassy  ice  of  the  lake  is  crowded  with  merry  skaters.  In  the 
upper  part  there  is  a  royal  chateau — Bellevue — near  the  winding  Spree,  which  forms 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  garden.  Some  distance  east  of  the  chateau,  within 
a  bold  upward  curve  of  the  river,  lies  Konigs-Piatz,  or  King's  Square.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  places  in  the  city,  laid  out  with  large  flower  beds  and  fountains.  In 
the  center  stands  a  great  monument  in  the  form  of  a  fluted  column.  From  the  terrace 
above  the  level  of  the  Platz,  a  circular  flight  of  granite  steps  leads  to  the  massive,  square 
pedestal,  where  beautiful  bronze  reliefs  tell  of  many  Prussian  victories.  Above  it  is  an  open 
colonnade,  or  large  gallery  of  columns,  running  around  the  base,  which  is  inlaid  with 
Venetian  mosaics.  The  column  is  of  yellowish  gray  sandstone,  divided  into  three  tiers, 
with  a  row  of  cannon  standing  in  the  recesses  of  the  fluting  at  the  base  of  each.  There 
are  sixty  guns  in  all,  which  were  captured  from  Denmark,  Austria  and  France.  The 
whole  monument  is  two  hundred  feet  high,  with  the  crowning  statue  of  a  colossal  figure 
of  Borussia,  above  the  sculptured  eagles  of  the  capital.  This  is  surrounded  by  a  high 
railing,  for  many  visitors  go  out  upon  it  to  enjoy  the  fine  view  of  the  Thiergarten  and  the 
city  beyond.  Above  the  extensive  space  of  the  King's  Square  is  another,  also  adorned 
with  fountains,  statuary  and  flower  beds,  and  flanked  by  lofty  buildings  ;  from 
here  the  broad  Alsten  street,  planted  with  double  rows  of  trees,  leads  to  bridges  that 
connect  with  the  city  beyond.  Above  the  garden  and  further  westward  is  Moabit,  once  a 
dangerous  quarter,  "  with  the  material  for  a  riot  always  on  hand  "  ;  but  now  you  would 
think  it  contained  every  thing  to  prevent  a  disturbance,  with  its  extensive  barracks 
overlooking  the  great  tree-bordered  Exercier  Platz,  or  parade  ground,  at  either  end ; 


Germany.  1 1 1 

its  vast  prison-houses,  built  out  from  one  large  center  like  a  star  ;  its  penitentiary  and 
its  criminal  court  buildings.  There  are  some  noted  churches  in  this  quarter,  too  ;  but 
for  the  most  part  it  is  made  up  of  factories  and  mechanics'  homes.  The  great  Borsig 
engine  works,  the  most  extensive  factories  in  the  city,  are  here.  A  hundred  and 
sixty  locomotives  are  made  in  these  shops  every  year.  Near  by  is  the  Villa  Borsig, 
surrounded  by  beautiful  grounds  and  containing  palm  houses,  filled  with  fine 
tropical  plants  and  trees,  and  hot-houses  of  rare,  cultivated  flowers.  These  attractions 
make  this  part  at  least  of  the  despised  suburb  a  very  desirable  place  to  visit.  Looking  down 
from  the  capital  of  the  great  monument,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Platz,  the  new  Reich- 
stags-Gebdude  or  parliament  house,  is  seen,  which  is  for  the  meetings  of  the  body  of  men 
elected  by  the  people  to  help  the  Emperor  rule  the  country.  On  the  other  side  is  a  long, 
showy-looking  building,  called  Kroll's  Establishment,  or  the  Casino  and  Winter  Garden. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  popular  resorts  in  Berlin,  containing  concert-hall, 
theater  and  restaurants.  The  principal  part  of  the  establishment  is  the  hall,  which  is 
almost  four  hundred  feet  long  and  one  hundred  feet  wide,  made  to  look  like  a  vast 
garden.  On  every  side  the  walls  are  covered  with  plants  and  flowers  growing  in  pots  or 
in  vases  and  festoons.  On  the  floor  there  are  great  plants,  palm  trees  and  flowery  banks, 
green  and  blooming,  and  growing  beneath  the  glass  roof  as  luxuriously  as  in  their  native 
land.  Three  bands  relieve  each  other  in  making  a  continuous  concert  of  good  music, 
which  attracts  thousands  of  people.  Hundreds  of  little  tables  are  standing  about,  around 
which  men  and  women  gather  in  animated  groups,  chatting  to  each  other  over  their 
refreshments,  listening  to  the  music,  or  watching  the  others  who  are  promenading  up 
and  down.  In  the  evening  the  place  is  brilliantly  lighted  with  hundreds  of  gas  jets.  It 
is  made  warm  and  pleasant  in  winter,  or  delightfully  cool  in  summer.  Then  the  great 
pavilions  are  open  and  seem  almost  to  be  a  part  of  the  shady  avenues,  filled  with  merry 
promenaders,  leading  to  the  Zelten,  or  tents,  along  the  river.  The  Zelten  is  a  sort  of 
outdoor  Kroll's,  lighted  through  the  trees,  where  gay  groups  of  people  enjoy  their 
friends,  listen  to  music,  or  quietly  take  an  evening  of  recreation  after  the  day's  work. 

The  main  entrance  to  the  Thiergarten  is  through  Brandenburg  Gate,  which  stands  on 
the  eastern  boundary  not  far  from  the  King's  Square,  and  at  the  head  of  the  Charlotten- 
burg  Road.  This  broad  avenue  runs  the  full  length  of  the  park  past  the  imposing  new 
Technical  School  and  the  famous  old  Royal  Porcelain  factory  at  the  further  end,  and  on 
through  the  scattered  western  outskirts  to  the  town  of  Charlottenburg.  This  is  likely  to 
soon  follow  many  other  places  in  becoming  incorporated  with  the  city.  Its  chief  inter- 
est now  is  connected  with  the  old  Royal  Palace.  A  stately  avenue  of  pines  from  the 
garden  leads  to  the  famous  Mausoleum  built  by  Frederick  William  III.  as  a  tomb  for  his 
beautiful  young  queen  Louise,  who  died  in  1810.  After  a  long  and  busy  life  the  old 
king  was  laid  by  her  side;  and  above  them  rest  the  marble  statues  whose  beauty  and 
skillful  workmanship  would  have  made  the  sculptor,  Christian  Rauch,  famous  if  he  had 


H2  Cities  of  the   World. 

never  done  any  thing  else.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  town  there  are  several  acres  inclosed 
in  the  Winter  Garden  of  the  Flora  Society,  which  is  another  famous  and  delightful  Berlin 
resort  for  all  seasons  of  the  year,  where  excellent  music  is  heard  in  the  midst  of  luxurious 
southern  trees  and  rare  tropical  plants.  A  canal  forms  the  lower  boundary  to  the  See 
Park,  and  in  one  place  separates  it  from  the  Zoological  Gardens.  This  is  also  an  exten- 
sive and  beautiful  park,  where  people  often  gather  by  thousands  to  hear  fine  open  air  con- 
certs. 

The  Berlin  collection  of  animals  kept  here  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world,  while  their 
attractive  houses  and  sheds  add  very  much  to  the  looks  of  the  garden.  The  Antelope 
House  is  built  in  the  Arabian  style,  and  the  gay  colored  Elephant  House  is  in  the  form  of 
an  Indian  pagoda,  or  temple.  This  quarter,  called  the  Outer  Friedrichstadt,  is  the  most 
elegant  in  the  city.  Between  the  Thiergarten  and  the  canal — which  crosses  the  upper 
portion  on  its  way  to  the  south-east  manufacturing  district  and  a  distant  point  of  the 
Spree — are  the  magnificent  villas  and  charming  grounds  of  the  wealthy  people  of  the 
capital.  Below  the  canal  the  broad  tree-planted  streets  are  lined  with  blocks  of  majestic 
mansions,  the  large  squares  are  set  with  fountains  and  statues  and  crossed  by  avenues 
running  in  every  direction.  There  are  few  public  buildings  here  but  some  fine  schools 
and  colleges.  These  are  to  be  seen  everywhere  in  German  cities  ;  they  are  for  all  ages 
from  the  "  play  school "  of  the  Kindergarten  to  the  philosophical  lecture  halls  of  the 
great  scholars  ;  for  Prussia  has  long  been  proud  of  the  minds  of  her  people  and  has  pro- 
vided handsomely  for  their  education  and  training.  Before  the  last  conquest  and  the  form- 
ation of  the  new  empire,  it  was  disparagingly  said  that  Berlin  was  a  bare,  flat  place,  made  up 
of  schools  and  barracks.  Perhaps  it  was  in  a  large  measure  ;  but  the  schools  turned  out  men 
who  have  taken  first  rank  among  the  scholars  of  the  world  ;  and  the  soldiery  has  beaten 
back  the  foes  and  made  this  city  of  "  magnificent  distances"  the  capital  of  one  of  the  leading 
nations  of  the  world.  The  Thiergarten  and  the  Outer  Friedrichstadt  are  separated  from 
the  more  central  part  of  Berlin,  called  the  Inner  Town,  by  the  Koniggratzer  strasse,  which 
is  a  long  handsome  boulevard  running  in  rather  a  south-easterly  direction  to  a  large  square 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  known  as  the  Belle  Alliance  Platz.  This  is  a  large  circular  place 
where  the  principal  streets  of  the  Friedrichstadt — a  quarter  directly  east  of  the  Outer 
Friedrichstadt — come  together.  The  Platz  is  very  pretty,  with  its  blooming  gardens, 
and  in  the  center  stands  the  great  Column  of  Peace,  which  was  raised  on  the  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  victoriously  won  peace  of  1815.  The  Column  is  of  granite  standing  on 
a  lofty  pedestal  and  with  a  marble  capital  or  top,  as  you  would  say,  upon  which  is  a  beautiful 
figure  of  Victory,  by  Herr  Rauch  who  made  the  statues  in  the  Charlottenburg  mausoleum. 
She  holds  a  twig  of  palm  as  the  emblem  of  peace,  in  one  hand,  and  extends  the  wreath  of 
victory  toward  the  city  with  the  other.  Four  marble  groups  are  at  the  base  of  the  monu- 
ment, representing  Prussia,  England,  the  Netherlands  and  Hanover,  the  four  great  powers 
that  took  part  in  the  war  of  1815.  The  continuation  of  Koniggratzer  strasse,  which  skirts 


Germany.  113 

the  canal  on  the  south  side  of  the  Platz,  is  reached  by  a  flight  of  steps,  adorned  by  figures 
in  white  marble.  At  the  top  of  the  staircase  is  the  sculptured  arch  of  the  Halle  Gate, 
from  which  the  canal  is  crossed  by  a  beautiful,  broad,  granite  bridge  with  large  marble 
groups  of  statuary  upon  its  buttresses.  This  leads  to  the  Schoneberg  Quarter,  and  the 
large  Botanical  Gardens,  below  the  Outer  Friedrichstadt.  '  The  western  part  of  the  city 
seems  to  be  unusually  rich  in  lovely  parks  ;  the  Botanical  Gardens  are  not  only  very 
extensive  and  beautiful,  but  have  many  thousand  species  of  classified  plants.  In  the  Palm 
House  there  are  graceful  southern  palms,  various  kinds  of  the  cactus  and  other  rare 
importations  that  are  wonderful  and  interesting.  Adjoining  the  Victoria  Regia  House  is 
the  new  Botanical  Museum  and  Herbarium,  with  some  of  the  best  collections  in  the 
world.  The  Tempelhof  Quarter  toward  the  south  is  growing  with  many  new  buildings, 
handsome  squares  and  broad  streets.  There  is  a  fine  view  of  this  new  part  of  Berlin 
from  the  Kreuzberg  or  Hill  of  the  Cross,  near  by,  which  is  a  sand  hill  about  a  hundred 
feet  above  the  city.  There  is  a  Gothic  obelisk  on  the  summit  adorned  with  statues  by 
famous  sculptors,  which  Frederick  William  III.  erected  and  dedicated  to  his  people. 

Some  distance  to  the  south-west  is  the  village  of  Potsdam,  on  the  Ringbahn,  a  railway 
which  encircles  the  city  and  suburbs  of  Berlin.  Here,  on  the  lakes  of  the  Havel  river, 
surrounded  by  fair  wooded  hills,  Frederick  the  Great  built  his  palace  home,  which  he 
called  Sans  Soua,  or  "  Without  Care."  The  beautiful  chateau  with  its  lovely  grounds  and 
adornments,  beside  many  other  palaces  and  magnificent  villas  which  were  put  up  in  this 
vicinity  after  the  example  set  by  the  king,  make  Potsdam  one  of  the  most  charming  and 
interesting  places  belonging  to  the  German  capital.  The  Potsdam  railway  has  a  hand- 
some station  in  the  Friedrichstadt  near  the  Koniggratzer  strasse.  The  streets  which 
radiate  northward  from  the  Belle  Alliance  Platz  are  broad,  even  and  very  handsome  ; 
they  are  crossed  by  others  which  are  also  large  and  straight,  making  the  Friedrichstadt 
the  most  regularly  built  quarter  of  Berlin.  Years  ago  this  part  of  town  was  dull  and 
tiresome,  but  now  its  blocks  are  filled  with  fine  stores,  places  of  amusement  and  important 
offices  ;  the  largest  retail  trade  in  the  city  is  done  here.  The  center  street,  run- 
ning from  the  Peace  Column,  is  the  Friedrich  strasse,  which  extends  in  a  straight 
line  across  the  center  of  the  Freidrichstadt  into  the  new  northern  suburb  of  the 
Freidrich-Wilhelm-stadt,  lying  above.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  streets  in  the  inner  town  ; 
with  public  and  private  buildings,  bright  stores,  restaurants,  cafes  and  places 
of  amusement  ;  it  is  full  of  life  and  activity,  especially  near  the  center,  where 
the  lofly  facades  of  splendid  buildings  are  unbroken  for  many  blocks.  At  the  cor- 
ner of  one  of  the  handsome  cross  streets  are  the  Germania  Insurance  Company's  offices^ 
the  high  imposing  front  richly  decorated  and  set  with  polished  granite  columns.  The 
beautiful  place  opposite  is  occupied  by  A.  W.  Faber,  the  famous  pencil  maker. 
The  Leipziger  strasse  is  the  most  important  street  in  this  quarter.  From  the  old 
house  of  Prussian  Deputies  near  the  Spittel  Market  at  one  end,  to  the  Potsdam  Gate 


H4  Cities  of  the    World. 

at  the  other,  it  is  filled  with  a  constant  throng  of  people,  intent  upon  business  during 
the  day  and  pleasure  in  the  evening.  Among  its  showy  stores,  handsome  offices,  concert 
halls  and  restaurants  are  dignified  old  houses  that  have  looked  down  upon  all  the  chang- 
ing scenes  of  this  "  verdant,  flowery  crescent,"  as  somebody  calls  the  street,  for  the  last 
hundred  years.  One  of  the  most  interesting  buildings  to  visit  is  the  Government  Post 
Office.  Its  business  part  is  entirely  for  the  use  of  the  postal  authorities  of  the  empire  ; 
but  any  one  is  allowed  to  visit  the  Post  Office  Museum  in  another  part  of  the  building. 
This  stands  near  the  corner  of  the  Wilhelm  strasse,  the  third  great  street  running  from 
the  Belle  Alliance  Platz.  From  its  stately  rows  of  official  mansions,  occupying  the 
deep  lots  extending  to  the  Thiergarten,  the  Wilhelm  strasse  is  often  called  the  Privy 
Councilors'  Quarter.  Just  within  the  Koniggratzer  strasse,  it  runs  in  the  same  direc- 
tion but  much  further  north.  It  crosses  the  Spree  by  the  Marschalls  Bridge,  round 
which  are  clustered  the  schools  and  colleges  belonging  to  the  medical  department  of  the 
Berlin  University,  and  on  past  this  "  Latin  Quarter  "  of  the  German  capital  into  the 
Freidrich-Wilhelm-stadt. 

At  the  head  of  Leipziger  strasse  is  a  large  eight-sided  platz  laid  out  like  a  park, 
adorned  with  bronze  statues  and  overlooked  by  residences  and  offices  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  adjoining  it  is  the  square  of  the  Potsdam  Gate,  while  into  it  come  broad, 
tree-lined  avenues  on  many  sides.  Toward  the  Wilhelm  strasse  is  the  Herrcnhaus,  or 
Upper  Chamber  of  the  Prussian  parliament ;  adjoining  the  extensive  buildings  of  the 
Reichstags-Gebaudc  or  Hall  of  the  Imperial  Diet.  These  inclose  several  courts  and  are 
very  long,  extending  the  depth  of  several  blocks  between  the  handsome  gardens  of  the 
adjoining  houses.  These  buildings  were  hastily  put  up  in  1871,  and  will  not  be  used 
by  the  Reichstags  after  the  new  ones  in  King's  Square  are  finished  ;  they  are  not  hand- 
some enough  to  be  very  interesting  except  as  the  place  where  that  important  power 
in  the  German  empire,  the  Reichstags,  holds  its  meetings. 

Below  the  vast  block  occupied  by  the  houses  of  the  government,  upon  a  new  street  leading 
to  the  Koniggratzer  strasse  is  the  German  Industrial  Museum,  built  in  massive  stories  of 
hewn  stone,  ornamented  with  mosaics  and  reliefs  in  terracotta,  and  adorned  with  statuary 
upon  the  staircase  leading  to  the  doorway.  The  apartments  are  in  groups,  around  a  large 
court  in  the  center,  which  is  encircled  by  slender  pillars  of  a  rock  very  much  like  granite, 
called  syenite  ;  above  this  colonnade  are  two  rows  of  arcades,  the  upper  one  crowned  by 
a  beautiful  sculptured  frieze,  colored  like  majolica.  The  collections  of  this  Museum  are 
very  interesting  articles  of  all  ages  and  from  many  countries.  Here  are  ancient  chairs  and 
other  pieces  of  furniture,  ivory  carvings,  perforated  leather  ;  Chinese  and  Japanese  lacquer 
work,  mosaics  and  things  made  of  plaited  straw,  of  wood,  paper,  hammered  iron  ;  vases  and 
plates  of  rare  majolica  ;  earthenware,  pottery  and  porcelain,  gold  and  silver  ware,  precious 
stones,  woven  goods,  embroideries  and  many  other  curious  and  beautiful  things  that 
belong  to  an  exhibition  of  the  world's  progress  in  industrial  art.  There  is  a  large  school 


1 1 6  Cities  of  the  World. 

connected  with  the  Museum  and  a  fine  library.  There  is  another  important  Museum  in 
the  corner  of  the  Koniggratzer  strasse,  and  near  by  is  the  Ascanischer  Platz,  and  the 
finest  railway  station  in  Berlin.  It  is  very  large  and  beautifully  decorated.  The  starting 
pavilion  of  this  Anhalt  Station  is  the  largest  on  the  Continent.  There  are  other  grand 
or  interesting  places  all  about  here,  and  not  far  above  the  line  of  palaces  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Wilhelm  strasse  is  broken  by  the  open  space  of  the  Wilhelms  Platz,  adorned 
with  flower-beds  and  bronze  statues  of  six  heroes  of  the  Three  Silesian  Wars  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  The  square  is  overlooked  and  surrounded  by  grand  public  and 
private  buildings  of  Prussian  government  officers  and  foreign  embassies,  which  also  ex- 
tend, with  their  variously  decorated  fa9ades  and  handsome  gardens  to  the  great  avenue 
and  true  center  of  the  city,  Unter  den  Linden.  This  most  famous  street  in  Prussia  is 
scarcely  a  mile  long,  running  from  the  King's  Palace  in  the  center  of  the  island  made  by 
the  Spree,  to  the  principal  entrance  to  the  Thiergarten,  the  Brandenburg  Gate.  From 
one  end  to  the  other  it  is  just  two  hundred  feet  wide  and  planted  with  four  rows  of  lime 
trees — interspersed  with  chestnuts — from  which  it  is  called  Unter  den  Linden,  or  under 
the  limes.  Brandenburg  Thor  was  the  most  important  of  Berlin's  nineteen  gates,  when 
the  city  was  surrounded  by  walls.  It  is  about  a  century  old,  and  associated  with  many 
great  events  in  Prussian  history.  On  the  top  stands  a  great  car  of  victory,  drawn  by 
four  horses  abreast,  which  the  French  carried  to  Paris  in  1807  ;  but,  the  successes  seven 
years  later  restored.  This  quadriga  is  made  of  copper,  but  the  Gate  itself  is 
of  sandstone  and  built  to  imitate  the  famous  Propylasa,  which  in  ancient  days 
stood  upon  the  Athenian  Acropolis.  The  center  passage  is  reserved  for  the  royal  car- 
riage ;  by  rows  of  massive  Doric  columns,  nearly  fifty  feet  high,  it  is  separated  from  a  gate- 
way on  either  side.  The  entire  Gate  is  a  little  less  than  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  more 
than  two  hundred  feet  broad.  Two  wings  like  Grecian  temples  adjoin  the  Gate  on  each 
side  ;  one  is  for  telegraph  and  pneumatic  tube  offices  ;  and  the  other  for  the  use  of  the 
soldiery  or  guards  stationed  here.  Outside  there  are  handsome  open  colonnades  for 
foot  passengers. 

Within  is  the  Pariser  Platz,  a  square  broader  than  the  Linden  and  overlooked  by 
handsome  lofty  buildings.  The  new  French  Embassy  is  on  the  north  side,  and  opposite 
is  the  Officers'  Casino  and  two  grand  palaces,  one  of  which  was  Prince  Bliicher's. 
Although  this  is  now  a  private  residence,  to  the  German  people  it  is  forever  associated 
with  "  Marshal  Forwards,"  whose  great  generalship  and  swift  marches  won  the  victory 
over  France  in  1814,  from  which  the  Square  of  Paris  is  named.  Here  begin  the  two 
lines  of  noble  buildings  which  extend  the  length  of  the  Linden,  unbroken.  Handsome 
palaces,  spacious  hotels  and  attractive  shops,  theaters,  restaurants  and  cafe's  on  both 
sides  of  the  way,  make  this  the  gayest,  the  busiest  and  the  most  interesting  part  of  the 
great  city.  It  is  a  never  ending  picture  of  the  daily  life  of  Berliners,  with  carriages  of 
every  description  rolling  along  the  drive,  officers  on  horseback  and  equestrians  out  for 


Germany.  117 

pleasure,  idling  or  cantering  through  the  bridle  paths,  while  the  sidewalks  are  thronged 
with  promenaders  of  every  class.  There  are  a  great  many  fine  galleries  in  the  city  ;  one 
of  which  is  in  Count  Redern's  palace,  the  Florentine  building  adjoining  the  Pariser 
Platz.  It  is  open  every  day,  and  any  one  is  admitted  who  has  made  "  previous  applica- 
tion." On  the  corner  of  Wilhelm  strasse  is  the  great  Hotel  Royal,  where  the  nobility  and 
diplomats  of  the  empire  stay  while  they  are  in  Berlin.  On  the  other  side  is  the  Aquarium, 
a  fairy-land  of  grottoes,  little  lakes,  and  beautiful  plants,  and  containing  fresh  and 
salt  water  fish,  amphibious  animals,  apes,  birds,  and  many  other  things  that  boys  and 
girls  love  to  see.  All  along  here  are  rich  and  imposing  buildings  of  the  government 
departments,  interspersed  with  brilliant  stores,  and  gay  cafes,  which  have  no  equal  in  any 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  Kaiser gallerie,  or  passage  running  to  the  next  street 
below,  is  said  to  be  the  handsomest  and  busiest  arcade  in  Europe.  The  lower  entrance 
is  on  a  corner  of  the  Friedrich  strasse,  which  crosses  the  Linden  in  about  the  center  of 
the  long  lines  of  trees,  and  is  another  great  artery  pouring  life  and  activity  into  the 
beautiful  street.  On  one  of  the  corners  is  the  Cafe  Bauer,  which  any  Berliner  will  tell 
you  is  the  handsomest,  the  best  and  most  visited  of  any  in  town.  Its  walls  are  painted 
by  great  artists,  its  beautiful  fittings  are  in  excellent  taste,  and  its  lofty  mirrors  reflect  a 
constant  throng  of  brilliant,  fashionable  people.  Beyond  the  Linden,  the  Friedrich 
strasse  enters  the  quarter  called  the  Dorothe"en  stadt,  which  contains  most  of  the  great 
hotels,  the  fashionable  restaurants,  clubs,  large  banking  houses,  important  schools,  lodges, 
and  churches.  In  the  upper  part  near  the  bank  of  the  river  is  the  Central  Hotel,  the 
most  famous  in  the  city,  the  Fifth  Avenue  or  Astor  House  of  Berlin.  It  is  an  immense 
establishment  containing  more  than  four  hundred  rooms,  celebrated  for  good  entertain- 
ment and  a  most  attractive  winter  garden.  Beyond  the  Friedrich  strasse  the  Linden  is 
crossed  by  Charlotten  street.  Here  the  buying  and  selling  life  of  the  Linden  ends  and 
a  vast  group  of  massive  and  splendid  buildings  of  a  different  kind  begins.  Instead  of 
stores  it  is  a  grand  vision  of  architecture,  sculpture,  color,  and  design,  to  which  is 
added  at  midday  the  greater  charm  of  military  music  from  the  Band  of  the  Royal 
Guards.  On  the  left  rises  the  vast  Academy,  with  a  great  clock  above  the  gate,  which 
always  tells  the  correct  time.  This  massive  building,  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  arts 
and  sciences  in  Germany,  is  the  seat  of  one  of  the  famous  academies  of  the  world,  that 
of  Paris  alone  being  more  important  and  celebrated. 

Behind  the  Academy  and  extending  toward  the  river  there  are  a  great  many  schools 
and  institutes,  to  which  students  and  teachers  come  from  all  parts  of  Germany  ;  but 
the  center  of  student  life  in  Berlin  is  the  University.  The  main  building  stands  just 
beyond  the  Academy,  overlooking  the  Opera  House  Square,  which  is  a  continuation  of 
the  Linden.  Next  to  her  armies  the  pride  of  Germany  is  her  great  universities.  There 
are  twenty-one  of  them  in  all,  large  and  noble  institutions  that  are  known  all  over  the 
world.  The  University  of  Berlin  is  next  to  the  youngest  and  also  next  to  the  largest.  It 


1 1 8  Cities  of  the    World. 

has  two  hundred  professors  and  twelve  times  as  many  students  coming  from  every  part  of 
the  globe.  Behind  the  buildings  is  a  "  campus,"  or  "  green,"  called  the  Chestnut  Grove,  a 
large  park,  overlooked  on  all  sides  by  fine  buildings,  most  of  which  are  in  some  way  con- 
nected with  the  Academy  or  University  ;  a  smaller  square  adjoining,  but  fronting  on 
the  Linden,  is  included  in  the  name  of  the  Grove,  but  belongs  to  the  House  of  the  Royal 
Guard.  This  was  built  by  the  great  architect  Schinkel  in  1818,  after  what  is  called  the 
Doric  style,  in  the  form  of  a  fortified  gate,  guarded  by  three  large  cannon  taken  in  war. 
Between  the  Guard  House  and  the  river  rise  the  beautiful  sculptured  walls  of  the 
Arsenal.  It  was  built  during  about  twenty  years  in  the  last  part  of  the  seventeenth  and 
the  earlier  years  of  the  eighteenth  centuries,  under  Frederick  I.  Each  of  the  sides  of  the 
great  square  structure  are  nearly  three  hundred  feet  long,  and  inclose  a  large  open  court 
or  quadrangle  in  the  center.  Over  the  principal  portal  is  a  bust  of  King  Frederick. 
Opposite  the  vestibule  groups  of  cannon  adorned  with  flags,  both  captured  from  the 
French  in  the  war-time  of  '71,  guard  the  entrance  to  the  glass  roofed  court,  from  the  back 
of  which  two  flights  of  stairs  go  up  to  the  Hall  of  Fame.  This  has  three  sections  or 
rooms,  adorned  with  historical  frescoes,  statues  of  Prussia's  monarchs  and  busts  of  its 
great  men  in  military  life.  In  another  part  of  the  Arsenal  there  is  a  fine  display  of  Prussian 
firearms,  besides  a  large  and  almost  complete  collection  of  all  the  varieties  of  firearms  ever 
used.  Many  of  the  foreign  pieces  are  spoils  of  war.  In  the  room  to  the  west  of  the  entrance 
are  implements  used  in  engineering,  models  of  old  French  fortresses,  brought  from 
Paris  in  1814,  and  the  keys  of  several  real  ones  that  the  Prussians  captured  ;  among  other 
interesting  war  things  are  some  historical  pictures  ;  the  flags  draping  the  pillars  also 
came  from  Paris  in  1814.  On  the  upper  floor  is  a  large  collection  of  ancient,  medieval 
and  modern  weapons.  The  buildings  on  the  lower  side  of  this  platz  are  even  more 
extensive  and  magnificent  than  those  above,  while  between  them  stands  the  chief  monu- 
ment of  the  city,  Rauch's  bronze  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great  on  horseback.  It  occu- 
pies a  space  in  the  center  of  the  broad  platz  between  the  Academy  and  the  Palace  of 
Emperor  William.  So,  the  center  of  Berlin  life  and  the  most  beautiful  street  in  Germany 
begins  at  a  triumphal  arch  crowned  with  a  car  of  victory,  and  ends  at  the  feet  of  the  great 
victor  who  raised  Prussia  from  a  petty  kingdom  to  one  of  the  five  principal  powers  of 
Europe. 

The  people  love  this  statue  of  "Old  Fritz,"  raised  by  their  later  sovereigns,Frederick 
William  III.,  and  his  son  Frederick  William  IV.  ;  and  they  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  its 
workmanship  in  the  massive  grandeur  of  the  rider  and  his  horse,  and  the  finish  of  the 
smaller  parts  of  the  work.  The  groups  of  life-like  sculptures  surrounding  the  pedestal 
tell  the  story  of  the  king's  life,  his  boyhood,  education,  the  great  achievements  of  his 
manhood,  and  represent  his  chief  officers  and  other  illustrious  men  of  the  time. 

The  Palace  of  Emperor  William,  opposite  the  Academy,  extends  through  the  block  ;  it 
is  lofty  and  handsome  outside,  and  within  contains  a  suite  of  apartments  sumptuously 


I2O  Cities  of  the   World. 

fitted  up  for  the  emperor,  an  immense  reception  room  over  two  hundred  feet  long,  and 
a  summer  and  winter  garden.  The  emperor's  apartments  are  on  the  ground  floor 
facing  the  east.  Adjoining  is  the  Royal  Library,  which  was  built  over  a  hundred  years 
ago,  in  imitation  of  the  Royal  Winter  Riding  School  at  Vienna.  Sarcastically  it  is 
likened  to  a  great  chest  of  drawers,  but  it  is  really  a  very  fine  looking  building  with 
elaborate  ornaments  after  what  is  called  the  Rococo  style.  On  the  ground  floor  is  the 
reading-room  and  the  collection  of  maps  ;  and  above  are  some  rare  manuscripts  of 
Luther  and  Melanchthon,  Gutenberg's  Bible  on  parchment,  over  thirty  volumes  of  por- 
traits and  autographs  of  celebrated  people,  Chinese  books,  a  small  eight-sided  Koran,  and 
many  other  ancient,  valuable  books  and  papers,  which,  with  the  other  contents  of  the 
Library,  make  nine  hundred  thousand  volumes  and  fifteen  thousand  manuscripts.  The 
king's  residence  and  the  Royal  Library  face  the  Opera  House  with  the  long  and  statue- 
adorned  Opera  Platz,  extending  the  full  depth  of  the  block  between.  The  Opera  House 
with  its  colonnaded  portico,  is  a  fine  large  structure  built  about  fifty  years  ago,  but  copied 
after  and  taking  the  place  of  the  seventeenth-century  building  which  was  burned.  The 
interior  is  large  and  handsomely  decorated  with  oil  paintings  framed  in  gold  on  the 
ceilings,  and  seats  for  eighteen  hundred  people.  The  partitions  between  the  boxes  are 
only  a  foot  high,  so  that  the  beautiful  dresses  and  jewels  worn  by  the  ladies  are  very 
elegant  under  the  brilliant  light  of  the  massive  bronze  chandelier,  and  the  many  smaller 
lights  in  the  vast  auditorium.  This  is  the  first  theater  in  Berlin,  where  good  operas  and 
the  most  celebrated  dramas  are  given,  besides  the  fine  symphony  concerts  regularly  held 
once  in  two  weeks  during  the  winter  in  the  Concert  Room.  At  the  back  of  the  Opera 
House  is  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  St.  Hedwig,  built  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  and  copied  from  the  Pantheon  at  Rome.  A  short  distance  to  the  south-west- 
ward is  the  extensive  Gensdarmen  Markt,  or  Military  Square,  which  is  said  to 
have  the  most  effective  group  of  buildings  in  Berlin.  The  large  square  is  surrounded 
by  broad  streets,  all  of  them  handsomer  than  Broadway  in  New  York,  and  faced  by 
several  grand  old  private  mansions  of  the  last  century.  The  Market  takes  up  three 
large  squares  in  about  the  center  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Friedrichstadt ;  it  is  situated 
two  blocks  below  the  Linden  and  two  above  the  Leipziger  strasse.  The  center 
is  called  the  Schiller  Platz,  from  a  marble  statue  of  the  poet  Schiller  on  a  magnificent 
pedestal  in  front  of  the  principal  fa£ade  of  the  Schauspielhaus,  of  Royal  Theater. 
This  is  a  large,  handsome  building  in  the  Grecian  style,  and  several  stories  high, 
with  a  grand  entrance  below  the  fine  Ionic  portico,  with  its  magnificent,  broad 
flight  of  steps  opposite  the  statue.  On  the  sides  of  the  staircase  there  are 
bronze  groups  of  genii  riding  on  a  panther  and  a  lion.  Above  the  portico  the  Children 
of  Niobe  are  sculptured  in  sandstone,  while  still  higher,  the  principal  part  of  the  build- 
ing is  crowned  with  a  bronze  group  of  Apollo  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  griffins,  above  a 
pediment  with  two  large  figures  of  muses.  On  the  other  side  a  Pegasus  in  copper  looks 


Germany.  121 

toward  the  west  from  the  roof  of  the  theater,  while  on  both  the  northern  and  the  south- 
ern sides  there  are  pediments  with  scenes  in  relief  which  are  considered  the  finest  work 
ever  done  by  the  great  artist  Frederick  Tieck.  The  Schauspielhaus  itself  was  designed 
by  Schinkel,  who  has  many  famous  works  in  the  German  capital.  His  best  interior  is 
the  Concert  Hall  of  this  theater,  which  is  a  beautiful  shape,  adorned  with  paintings  and 
sculptures.  It  holds  twelve  hundred  people,  and  is  entirely  separate  from  the  theater 
auditorium,  in  which  fifteen  hundred  people  may  gather  comfortably. 

In  the  lower  portion  of  the  Market  stands  the  odd-shaped,  five-sided  New  Church,  or 
German  Cathedral,  with  handsome  high-domed  towers  separate  from  the  main  building. 
Above  the  theater  is  the  old  French  Church,  built  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 
Eastward  from  the  Market  lie  the  narrow  and  irregular  streets  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
quarter  of  New  Kolln  on  the  Water  ;  here  are  fine  modern  business  houses  and  great  throngs 
of  lively  people,  although  it  is  one  of  the  very  oldest  parts  of  the  city.  One  of  the  first 
things  you  would  notice  here  is  the  noble  looking  and  extensive  Imperial  German  Bank, 
it  is  so  gay  with  its  mixture  of  sandstone  and  brick,  handsomely  adorned  with  sculptures. 
The  inside,  too,  is  very  richly  and  tastefully  decorated.  Above  the  Bank  stands  the 
lofty  Venetian  fa9ade  of  the  Central  Telegraph  office,  the  headquarters  of  a  splendid 
system  of  quick  communication,  which  is  a  necessity  to  the  active  Berliners.  It  is  not 
alone  in  the  newness  and  the  bustle  of  Berlin  that  it  is  like  the  great  cities  of  the 
United  States,  but  in  the  force  and  energy  of  the  people  to  whom  "  time  is  money,"  and 
in  all  matters  of  business  as  little  to  be  wasted  ;  so  the  telegraph  wires,  which,  besides 
connecting  with  far-away  places,  are  very  much  used  to  send  messages  from  one  part  of 
the  city  to  another.  Without  a  moment's  delay,  for  about  seven  cents,  the  clerks  will 
send  twenty  words  to  any  of  the  twenty  stations  of  Berlin;  and  from  there  it  will  be 
delivered  to  whatever  address  is  given,  in  a  surprisingly  short  time.  Near  the  Telegraph 
Office  and  the  Bank  is  the  Old  Mint,  which  is  newer  than  many  finer  buildings  of  the 
city.  This  has  been  dismantled  of  its  chief  beauty,  the  sandstone  frieze  representing  the 
process  of  obtaining  and  treating  the  metals  for  the  fine  New  Mint,  which  occupies  a  large 
square,  opposite  the  Werder  Church. 

On  the  east  the  Mint  overlooks  the  water,  and  on  the  north  it  faces  the  large,  square 
building  of  the  Bau  Academy  or  Academy  of  Architecture,  which  accommodates  seven 
hundred  students,  and  contains  a  museum  of  several  interesting  collections.  On  the 
ground  floor  is  the  Beuth-Schinkel  Museum,  with  a  large  collection  of  drawings  and 
designs  of  buildings  and  plans  which  were  made  by  Schinkel  for  the  finest  of  his 
works.  There  are  also  exhibits  of  models  of  architecture,  and  some  engravings  be- 
queathed by  Beuth,  who  did  a  great  deal  to  help  Prussia  in  industrial  pursuits.  The 
museum  building  itself  was  designed  by  Schinkel,  and,  an  architect  would  tell  you,  is  a 
masterly  work,  in  the  style  of  the  middle  ages,  finished  with  an  ornamentation  of  brick 
and  terra-cotta  copied  from  Greek  patterns.  The  staircase  is  the  handsomest  part  of 


122  Cities  of  the   World. 

the  interior,  the  remainder  being  devoted  to  school  and  exhibition  rooms.  The  long, 
triangular-shaped  platz  along  the  river  bank  above  the  Academy  is  named  after  the  great 
architect,  and  has  a  fine  bronze  statue  of  him  in  the  center,  between  those  of  Beuth  and 
Thaer.  It  is  a  gay  nook  of  the  capital  here,  among  the  picturesque  buildings  of  the 
Werder  market,  and  through  the  arched  street  leading  to  the  Linden,  between  the 
Palace  of  the  Crown  Princess  on  the  left  and  the  grand  Palace  of  the  Crown  Prince 
on  the  right,  whose  sculptured  fagade,  set  with  long  tiers  of  shining  windows,  stands 
opposite  the  Arsenal.  From  the  platz  adjoining  the  Linden  the  Spree  is  crossed  by  the 
beautiful  Schloss-Briicke  or  Palace  Bridge,  leading  to  the  great  open  space  in  front  of  the 
Schloss  or  Royal  Palace,  beyond  which  the  eastern  arm  of  the  river  is  crossed  by  a 
smaller  bridge  leading  to  the  "  old  town  "  of  Berlin,  so  that  there  is  one  unbroken 
thoroughfare  all  the  way  across  the  center  of  the  city.  The  Schloss-Briicke  is 
large  and  very  broad,  with  handsome  parapets  and  immense  groups  of  marble  sculptures, 
representing  the  life  of  a  warrior  from  the  days  of  boyhood,  when  he  is  learning  about 
the  heroes  of  history,  to  the  glorious  end  of  his  life  on  earth.  Above  the  Palace  extends 
the  old  Lustgarten,  once  the  Palace  Pleasure  Garden ;  now  an  immense  tree-planted 
public  park  with  plain,  regular  walks  and  a  great  statue  of  Frederick  William  III.  in  the 
center.  Toward  the  east  stands  the  old  Cathedral,  which  has  some  monuments  and 
tombs  of  the  early  electors,  and  the  buiial  vaults  of  the  royal  family  beneath,  but  other- 
wise is  about  the  least  interesting  thing  on  the  island.  An  avenue  through  the  center 
of  the  Lustgarten  leads  directly  to  the  beautiful  Greek  building  of  the  Old  Museum,  in 
front  of  which  is  a  huge  basin  hewn  out  of  a  solid  block  of  granite  weighing  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  tons.  The  long  building  overlooks  the  Lustgarten  from  the  colonnaded 
portico,  extending  all  the  way  across  the  building,  and  reached  by  abroad  flight  of  steps 
on  which  are  placed  great  pieces  of  statuary  in  bronze,  representing  an  Amazon  on  horse- 
back defending  herself  against  a  tiger,  and  a  battle  between  lions.  Both  of  these 
are  widely  known  as  the  Amazon,  by  Kiss,  and  the  Lion  Slayer,  by  Albert  Wolff. 
The  central  part  of  the  building  rises  above  the  rest,  and  bears  at  the  four  cor- 
ners other  colossal  groups  in  bronze.  Handsome  bronze  doors  open  from  the  por- 
tico into  the  spacious  vestibule,  which  contains  a  marble  statue  of  Schinkel,  the 
designer  of  the  Museum,  said  to  be  the  finest  Greek  building  in  the  city  ;  and  the  large 
and  beautiful  frescoes  which  adorn  the  lofty  walls  ;  a  still  finer  statue  of  Rauch  is 
here,  and  of  several  other  worthies.  The  frescoes  are  upon  a  great  many  different  sub- 
jects and  are  very  beautiful  and  instructive.  From  each  side  at  the  end  of  the  vestibule 
a  double  staircase  leads  to  the  upper  vestibule,  where  there  are  more  Schinkel  frescoes 
and  a  fine  view  of  the  Lustgarten,  the  Schloss  and  its  surroundings  from  the  open 
spaces  between  the  great  columns.  A  doorway  opposite  leads  to  the  gallery 
which  runs  around  the  glass-covered  rotunda ;  the  gallery  is  supported  by 
columns,  between  which  are  eighteen  ancient  statues  on  the  ground  floor.  To  the  right 


A    STREET    CORNER    OF    BERLIN. 


124  Cities  of  the   World. 

and  the  left  is  a  large  square  court.  The  upper  walls  of  the  rotunda  are  hung  with  the 
celebrated  tapestries  woven  at  Brussels  for  Henry  VIII.  of  England  from  designs  by 
Raphael.  Passing  from  one  part  of  the  Museum  to  another  one  feels  that  the  rooms 
are  very  pleasantly  arranged,  and  on  a  simple  plan.  The  contents  of  the 
Museum  are  carefully  divided  or  classified  and  arranged  according  to  the  age  of 
the  different  pieces.  Below  the  first  floor  is  a  basement  or  ground  floor  containing  the 
library  used  by  those  who  are  in  charge  of  the  Museum,  and  the  Cabinet  of  Coins. 
There  are  many  thousand  ancient  pieces  of  money,  almost  half  of  which  are  rare  speci- 
mens of  the  Greek  and  Roman  ;  the  other  large  cases  are  filled  with  Oriental  coins  ;  those 
in  use  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  a  fine  collection  of  German  coins  and  medals. 
The  second  floor  is  a  vast  picture  gallery;  a  series  of  cabinets  running  around 
the  entire  building  contains  the  German  national  collection  of  ancient  paintings,  these, 
too,  arranged  in  classes  according  to  the  age  of  the  pictures.  All  the  important  schools 
of  European  paintings  are  represented,  in  which  among  a  host  of  others  are  the  famous 
names  of  the  Van  Eyck  brothers  of  the  old  Netherlandish  school,  Giotto  of  the  early 
Italian  painters,  and  Raphael  of  the  golden  time  in  Italian  art,  a  few  portraits  by  Titian 
of  the  Venetian  school,  and  Albrecht  Diirer  of  the  early  German  painters,  a  small 
choice  collection  from  the  Flemish  master,  Paul  Rubens,  and  the  school  he  founded, 
and  a  number  of  good  works  by  Rembrandt  of  the  Dutch  school.  The  fame  of  the 
Berlin  Gallery  rests  more  upon  the  completeness  of  its  collection  in  representing  the 
history  of  painting  than  on  any  great  single  pieces  ;  but  wherever  its  collectors  are 
able  to  secure  masterpieces  t>f  any  school,  they  do  so,  and  in  this  way  it  is  an  exhi- 
bition of  the  growth  of  the  beautiful  art,  containing  some  wonderful  works 
of  the  highest  class.  Adjoining  the  northern  side  of  the  Old  Museum  is  a 
staircase  and  passage  leading  to  the  plain,  stately  building,  the  New  Museum, 
which,  looking  like  a  high  Grecian  Temple,  stands  at  right  angles  to  the  older 
edifice. 

The  arrangements  and  decorations  of  the  interior  of  the  New  Museum  are  the 
handsomest  of  any  in  Berlin.  The  magnificent  paintings  on  the  staircase  walls 
and  other  adornments  of  the  building  almost  put  the  collections  in  the 
shade.  The  general  plan  of  the  rooms,  halls  and  courts  is  much  like  that  of  the 
other  museum,  the  great  staircase  taking  the  place  of  the  rotunda  with  the^ 
courts  on  either  side.  The  easterly  corners  of  the  building  contain  a  rotunda 
at  one  end  and  cupola  at  the  other,  from  which  last  is  the  passage  to  the  Old  Museum. 
These  collections,  like  the  others,  are  in  representation  of  the  history  of  art.  On  the 
ground  floor  are  tiles,  pieces  of  sculpture,  tombs,  monuments,  mummies,  gems,  jewelry 
and  other  rare  and  valuable  antiquities  of  Egypt,  sculptures  and  other  remains  of  the  lost 
Assyrian  nation,  and  sculptures  of  the  first  .years  of  the  Christian  Era.  The  first  floor  is 
all  taken  up  with  a  large  collection  of  casts,  and  on  the  top  floor  is  one  of  the  largest 


Germany.  125 

and  finest  collections  of  engravings  in  Europe,  a  large  cabinet  of  rare  and  artistic 
manuscripts,  and  the  rooms  of  the  Antiquarium.  This,  to  the  visitor  who  is  not  an 
artist,  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  New  Museum.  It  is  made  up  of 
beautiful  and  very  old  bronze  toilet-caskets,  metal  mirrors,  weapons,  household 
articles,  showing  what  the  Greeks  and  Romans  used  to  keep  house  with  ;  and  some 
of  the  terra-cotta  reliefs  with  which  they  ornamented  their  buildings,  at  the  same  time 
recording  their  history.  Besides  these  there  are  here  a  great  many  handsome  vases  and 
cameos,  intaglios,  other  gems  and  precious  metals.  A  glass  cabinet  in  the  center  holds 
the  famous  silver  treasure  of  Roman  plate  which  was  made  in  the  time  of  Augustus. 
(You  remember  this  was  the  reign  in  which  Christ  was  born.)  The  Berlin  collection  of 
modern  paintings,  which  numbers  about  five  hundred,  is  in  the  elegant  new  building, 
which  stands  to  the  east  of  the  New  Museum.  The  National  Gallery  of  paintings  and 
sculptures,  cartoons  and  drawings  is  in  the  form  of  a  very  long  and  broad  Corinthian  tem- 
ple. It  stands  in  a  square,  beautifully  laid  out  with  flowerbeds,  fountain  and  statues,  and 
inclosed  by  a  Doric  colonnade.  Above  the  Gallery  and  the  New  Museum,  the  island 
comes  to  a  point,  and  the  river — reunited — flows  to  the  westward.  On  the  opposite 
bank,  upon  the  turn  of  the  eastern  branch,  the  extensive  old  garden  of  the  royal 
chateau  of  Monbijou  lies  along  the  shore.  The  long,  irregular  building  of 
the  chateau  is  made  up  of  a  villa,  built  for  a  German  countess  almost  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  the  additions,  which  were  made  before  this  century,  after  the 
place  became  Schloss  Monbijou  and  the  residence  of  the  queen  of  Frederick  William  I. 
It  is  now  mainly  used  for  what  is  called  the  Hohenzollern  Museum,  which  is  a  collection 
of  articles  that  have  belonged  to  the  rulers  of  Prussia  from  the  time  of  the  Great  Elector 
to  the  present  day.  They  are  arranged  in  groups;  the  portraits  of  a  certain  monarch's 
family  with  articles  they  used,  clothes  they  wore,  beautiful  things  they  owned  and  some- 
times the  work  of  their  hands,  are  all  placed  together  with  portraits  and  statues  of  the 
noted  people  of  that  time.  In  the  room  of  Frederick  William  II.  are  portraits  of  the 
king's  generals,  the  orders  of  Napoleon,  captured  at  Waterloo,  and  also  the  orders  worn 
by  General  Bliicher.  The  most  interesting  rooms  of  all  contain  reminiscences  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  in  which  are  the  clothes  he  wore  from  the  time  he  was  a  child  till 
the  time  of  his  death,  and  many  other  belongings  of  the  great  hero.  Above  Monbijou 
the  streets  extend  irregularly  in  many  directions  ;  but  they  are  broad,  and  often  lead 
into  handsome  open  squares.  From  one,  near  by,  is  the  Sophien  Kirche,  with  its  elegant 
rococo  spire,  rising  opposite  the  large  Gothic  hospital  of  St.  Hedwig ;  adjoining  is  the 
interesting  old  Jewish  cemetery,  while  further  to  the  north-west  is  the  fine  new  Synagogue, 
with  its  gilded  dome  and  Oriental  appearance,  in  the  combination  of  granite  and  sand- 
stone trimmings  upon  the  structure  of  brick.  This  is  a  very  handsome,  attractive 
building.  There  are  three  doors  of  bronze,  separated  by  columns  of  green  granite, 
within  which  the  vestibule  leads  to  the  Small  Synagogue,  for  the  minor  ceremonies  of 


126  Cities  of  the   World. 

the  Jewish  religion,  while  the  apartment  of  the  Principal  Synagogue  is  beyond.  This 
magnificent  long  room  and  its  curious  vaulted  ceiling  with  iron  tie-beams  and  cramps, 
supported  by  slender  iron  columns,  is  most  gorgeously  decorated,  especially  in  the  apse, 
which  is  very  beautiful  at  dusk,  when  the  softened  evening  light  falls  through  the  cupolas 
and  the  stained  glass  windows.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Synagogue  there  are  several  other 
Jewish  buildings,  altogether  the  finest  collection  of  religious  edifices  in  Berlin.  Here, 
too,  the  largest  part  of  the  Hebrew  people  of  the  capital  live,  forming  quite  an  extensive 
Jewish  quarter.  They  are  important  citizens,  wealthy,  intelligent  and  holding  a  high 
position  in  society.  Their  children  are  carefully  educated,  and  they  themselves  attract 
to  their  homes,  their  small  companies  and  receptions,  some  of  the  finest  and  most 
agreeable  among  all  the  people  of  the  capital. 

When  Berlin  was  first  known  in  history  it  was  a  small  city  of  two  parts ; 
the  most  easterly  was  separated  by  the  right  arm  of  the  Spree  from  a 
smaller  town  called  Kolln,  which  lay  on  the  lower  part  of  the  island.  In 
1451  the  Elector  Frederick  II.  built  a  castle  on  the  river  bank,  above  Kolln 
and  facing  Berlin,  to  which,  nearly  a  hundred  years  later,  Joachim  II.  added  a 
wing.  He  placed  it  at  right-angles  with  the  original  building,  little  thinking 
that  the  other  monarchs  who  came  after  him  would,  in  turn,  add  to  this  wing 
till  it  should  extend  all  the  way  across  the  island  and  form  the  main  part  of  the 
royal  palace  of  a  great  empire.  With  many  additions  and  alterations,  it  now  incloses 
two  large  square  courts,  while  the  old  palace  of  Frederick  is  but  one  small  suite  of  apart- 
ments at  one  side.  Altogether  the  Schloss  is  an  imposing  and  massive  pile,  which  the 
German  rulers  have  never  quite  finished  altering  and  embellishing  ;  so  it  has  the  appear- 
ance of  being  neither  old  nor  new.  The  ornamentation  on  the  northern  fa9ade  is  light  and 
elegant ;  the  portal  on  the  west  is  in  imitation  of  the  great  triumphal  arch  of  Septimius 
Severus  of  ancient  Rome,1  and  the  high  walls  that  look  toward  ancient  Kolln  are  like 
some  grim  and  severe  monument,  with  scarcely  any  attempt  at  ornamentation. 

The  handsomest  of  the  inclosed  courts  is  the  inner  court ;  it  is  surrounded  by  arcades 
on  three  sides,  separated  from  the  outer  courts  by  a  block  of  sixteenth  century  buildings, 
which  have  been  ornamented  by  modern  architects.  There  are  about  six  hundred  apart- 
ments in  the  building.  In  the  time  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who  lived  during  the  larger 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  almost  all  the  royal  family  made  their  homes  in  the  Schloss  ; 
it  then  held  all  the  royal  collections,  and  was  the  seat  of  several  government  officials. 
But  in  later  days  the  growth  of  the  nation,  and  of  the  desires  of  the  monarchs,  have 
caused  other  buildings  to  be  raised  for  the  residence  of  the  emperor  and  the  officers  and 
the  meetings  of  the  State.  The  second  story,  overlooking  the  Werder  Bridge,  Prince 
Frederick  Charles  occupies,  and  on  the  ground  floor  on  the  south  Prince  Leopold  lives  ; 

1  See  chapter  on  Rome  of  "  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World." 


128  Cities  of  the    World. 

but  the  other  parts  of  the  palace  are  now  unused  except  as  reception  rooms  for  royal 
guests  and  for  the  dwellings  of  a  few  officials.  One  after  another  stately  corridors  stretch 
on  to  ante-chambers  leading  to  grand  halls  lined  with  portraits  of  the  Prussian  royalty 
and  gorgeous  rooms  furnished  as  when  they  were  in  use.  Here  are  the  apartments  where 
kings  and  queens  have  lived  and  died.  Frederick  the  Great  was  born  in  this  palace;  and 
in  one  of  the  rooms  is  the  handsomely  decorated  Bridal  Chamber,  still  used  for  royal  mar- 
riages. The  most  richly  ornamented  of  all  these  gorgeous  rococo  reception  halls  is  the  Ritter 
Saal  or  Old  Throne  Room.  Above  the  side  doors  are  groups  representing  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe  ;  another  large  and  beautiful  carving  is  over  the  central  door,  where  there 
is  also  a  gallery  which  used  to  be  of  solid  silver,  to  correspond  with  the  massive  thrones  ; 
above  the  thrones  is  a  great  shield  of  the  same  metal,  which  the  town  of  Berlin  pre- 
sented to  Frederick  William  IV.  The  massive  silver  column  in  front  of  the  window  is 
another  gift.  It  was  made  to  the  present  emperor  in  1867  by  the  army  and  navy  officers, 
on  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  admission  to  the  military  service.  The  palace  chapel 
is  a  high,  eight-sided  building,  seventy-five  feet  across  one  way  and  a  trifle  longer  the 
other.  This  odd  shaped  little  sanctuary  is  like  Aladdin's  cave,  with  its  frescoes  on  gilded 
walls,  its  linings  and  pavements  of  marbles  in  different  colors,  the  four  yellow  Egyptian 
marble  columns  of  the  altar,  and  the  pure  white  pulpit  and  candelabra  of  Carrara 
marble. 

The  Schloss  Platz,  or  the  Square,  below  the  Palace,  is  a  large  open  space,  extending 
across  the  island  from  the  Werder  Bridge  to  the  old  Bridge  of  the  Electors,  over  the 
eastern  stream,  and  connecting  Alt  Kolln,  as  the  Berliners  say,  or  Old  Kolln,  with  Alt 
Berlin.  The  lower  part  of  the  island  broadens  somewhat  till  it  is  almost  square  ;  it  is 
•  crossed  in  both  directions  by  many  streets.  In  about  the  center  is  the  Church  of  St. 
'Peter,  which  is  built  in  the  Gothic  style  and  has  a  slender,  graceful  spire  that  is  the 
highest  in  Berlin.  Almost  adjoining  on  the  east  is  the  old  Kolln  Fish  Market,  where  the 
Kolln  Rathhaus,  or  Town  Hall  stands,  with  its  unfinished  tower  and  museum  of  ancient 
articles  in  flint,  bronze  and  iron  from  the  lake  dwellings  and  early  settlements  ;  there  are 
also  cabinets  of  weapons,  armor,  ancient  instruments  of  torture,  old  articles  of  church 
use  and  furniture,  coins  and  medals,  and  antique  pieces  of  porcelain,  glass,  ornaments, 
clothing  and  other  things.  Just  below  the  Royal  Mills  on  the  river  here  is  the  Miihlen-  \ 
damm,  or  mill-dam  bridge,  lined  with  an  ancient  colonnade,  occupied  by  the  shops  and 
offices  of  the  small  Jewish  dealers.  The  Royal  stables  are  above,  and  contain  perhaps 
the  best  horses  to  be  seen  in  the  capital  ;  for  Berlin  makes  no  boast  of  fine  teams  ;  the 
best  display  it  can  make,  royal  equipages  and  all,  is  very  poor  compared  to  the  hand- 
some spans  and  gorgeous  carriages  that  we  see  in  our  own  land.  The  stables  are  near 
the  Schloss  Platz,  the  great  thoroughfare  connecting  "  the  new  and  the  old,  the  elegant 
and  the  fashionable,  with  the  busy  and  toiling  Berlin."  The  Bridge  of  the  Elector  is  the 
£>ld  Lange  Bridge,  renamed  from  the  fine  bronze  horse-back  statue  of  Frederick  William, 


Germany.  129 

the  Great  Elector,  which  was  placed  here  in  1703  ;  this  grand  majestic  figure,  with 
four  slaves  round  the  pedestal,  stands  between  the  quiet  repose  of  the  museum  island  and 
the  continual  activity  of  the  Old  Town  ;  it  is  at  the  head  of  the  narrow  winding  pass  of 
King  Street  with  its  high  houses  and  vast  blocks  of  buildings,  leading  into  the  busiest 
quarter  of  the  whole  city,  where  "  from  morning  till  night  there  is  no  moment  of 
quiet  or  rest  from  the  unceasing  throng  and  rattle  of  wheels."  The  low,  four-wheeled 
drosky,  or  cab,  dashes  over  the  bridge  with  a  merchant  or  a  humble  marketer,  lumbers  up 
King  Street  amidst  the  crowded  throng  of  people  and  vehicles,  past  the  great  post-office, 
the  vast  block  covered  by  the  Berlin  Town  Hall,  and  many  other  buildings,  to  the  rail- 
way station  beyond,  in  Alexander  Platz,  or  out  into  the  suburbs  of  Stradlau  or  Konig- 
stadt  above  with  its  pretty  Frederick's  Park,  perhaps  ;  or  turning  into  some  side  street, 
may  set  down  its  occupant  in  the  front  of  store  or  office  or  dwelling,  for  the  cheap  drosky 
with  its  good-natured  driver,  called  schwager — brother-in-law — carries  all  sorts  of 
people  to  all  sorts  of  places  ;  and  the  Old  Town  is  full  of  both.  From  here  come 
wholesale  quantities  to  supply  all  the  material  wants  of  the  city  ;  it  is  the  "  down  town  " 
of  New  York,  or  the  "  City  "  of  London,  densely  peopled  and  crowded  with  business. 
Below  the  Konigs  strasse,  which  runs  through  the  center  of  Old  Berlin  toward  the  north- 
east and  ends  in  the  Alexander  Platz, — below  this  crowded  thoroughfare  is  a  very  closely 
built  up  and  thickly  settled  quarter,  bounded  on  the  east  by  broad  promenades,  laid  out 
over  the  ancient  ramparts.  In  this  old  quarter  are  many  of  the  important  and  most-used 
public  buildings  of  the  city.  At  the  head  of  the  Muhlendamm  is  the  Molken  Markt,  the 
oldest  square  in  the  city,  in  front  of  the  principal  police  court  and  the  criminal  court 
houses,  which  form  a  large  group  of  ancient-looking  buildings  with  some  of  the  wings 
extending  along  the  river.  Above  is  the  oldest  church  in  Berlin,  St.  Nicholas, 
with  its  two  lofty  towers,  and  picturesque  interior.  In  another  respect  than  age  this  is 
also  a  remarkable  building  ;  every  kind  of  artistic  style  in  architecture  since  the  end  of 
the  Gothic  period,  which  was  about  the  sixteenth  century,  is  here  represented,  some- 
times by  work  of  great  value  and  beauty.  Numbers  of  tablets,  screens,  and  some  famous 
tombs  are  in  this  old  church,  which  has  seen  Berlin  grow  to  its  present  size  and  import- 
ance from  a  little  town  of  the  thirteenth  century  before  it  was  united  with  Kolln, 
across  the  river. 

Near  by  is  another  ancient  building — the  Kurfursten  haus,  or  House  of  the  Electors, 
the  great  princes,  who  used  to  elect  the  emperor  or  the  king  in  the  earlier  days  of  the 
first  German  empire. 

To  the  east  of  this  is  an  imposing  square  of  brick  buildings  with  granite  facings  and 
terra  cotta  ornamentation,  occupying  a  large  space  fronting  on  the  King  Street.  This 
is  the  Berlin  Rathhaus,  or  Town  Hall,  and  is  entered  by  the  main  portal  under  the  lofty 
clock  tower,  which  is  always  illuminated  after  dark,  and  tells  the  time,  day  and  night, 
over  a  large  part  of  the  city. 


130  Cities  of  the   World. 

One  very  interesting  part  of  the  outside  of  this  great  building  is  the  set  of  reliefs  on 
the  front  of  the  balcony,  representing  important  scenes  in  old  and  new  Berlin. 

Entering  the  Rathhaus  one  passes  the  bronze  statues  of  Emperor  William  and 
Elector  Frederick  I.  ;  beyond,  the  main  staircase  leads  to  the  star-vaulted  passage  with 
beautiful  stained  glass  windows  bearing  the  arms  of  eighty-four  Prussian  towns.  The 
Library  is  on  the  right,  with  vaulted  ceilings  and  paintings  on  the  walls.  On  the  book- 
case doors  are  medallion  portraits  of  celebrated  men,  connected  with  the  books  within. 
Passing  through  the  small  reading  room,  with  ceiling  paintings  of  the  German  legends 
and  busts  of  Bismarck  and  Moltke,  the  handsome  Fest-saal  is  reached.  This  beautiful 
room  is  too  interesting  to  pass  through  quickly.  Visitors  "  break  their  necks,"  they  say, 
before  they  can  take  their  eyes  from  the  fine  coffered  ceilings,  with  their  sunken  panels, 
bearing  pictures  by  a  celebrated  artist.  From  the  roof  hang  massive  candelabra,  while 
the  doors  are  of  oak  richly  carved.  Beside  the  statues  in  the  Saal,  there  is  the  great 
picture  of  the  Berlin  Congress  of  European  powers  to  settle  the  "  Eastern  question,"  which 
was  held  in  the  residence  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Empire  on  the  Wilhelm  strasse,  from 
the  i3th  of  June  to  July  13,  1878. 

Among  the  most  important  places  in  the  Old  Town  is  the  extensive  Central  Post 
Office,  which  is  the  head  of  a  postal  system  as  prompt  and  sure  and  far-reaching  in  its 
way  as  the  telegraph,  I  told  you  about,  is  in  a  similar  kind  of  usefulness.  In  the  upper 
part  of  Alt  Berlin  is  the  old  "  New  Market  "  in  which  stands  the  second  parish  church 
of  the  ancient  town.  It  is  five  or  six  centuries  old,  with  a  very  peculiar  Gothic  spire 
about  three  hundred  feet  high. 

Among  the  many  streets  running  in  all  directions  from  here  some  lead 
to  the  river  and  the  imposing  Borse  or  Exchange,  opposite  the  cathedral  on  the 
island.  Berliners  point  this  out  as  their  first  modern  building  made  of  stone  instead 
of  brick.  The  main  front  overlooks  the  river  with  a  double  colonnade  ;  a  fine  large 
carved  group  in  sandstone  is  above  in  the  center,  and  smaller  ones  with  other  statuary 
on  the  wings.  The  Great  Hall  is  the  largest  in  Berlin  ;  it  is  lined  with  an  imitation 
of  marble  and  divided  by  arcades  into  the  money  department  and  the  corn  exchange. 
The  gallery,  which  is  above  the  hall,  is  often  filled  with  visitors,  watching  the  busy 
crowds  below,  where  more  than  three  thousand  people  meet  every  day.  From  every 
quarter  of  the  inner  town  there  are  many  streets  leading  directly  to  the  more  openly 
built  suburbs,  whose  streets  are  broader  and  squares  are  planted  with  trees  and  flower 
beds  ;  the  dwellings  are  nearly  all  vast  apartment  houses,  built  of  brick,  plas- 
tered or  stuccoed  outside.  Their  balconied  fronts  are  like  hanging  gardens  in  summer, 
filled  with  flowers  from  ground  to  roof.  All  the  rented  houses  in  Berlin  are  now-a-days 
built  in  flats.  They  are  to  be  seen  in  almost  all  the  newer  parts  of  the  city.  They  are 
immense  structures,  many  stories  high,  and  extending  the  entire  depth  of  the  block. 
The  social  standing  of  the  family  is  gauged  by  the  location  of  their  flat.  The  poor  class 


FREDERICK    STREET,    BERLIN. 


132  Cities  of  the   World. 

and  often  the  low  class  live  below  ground  in  what  are  called  the  sunken  floors.  It  is 
said  that  one-tenth  of  the  population  of  the  capital  lives  in  this  way  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  Certainly  this  is  where  the  dens  of  wickedness  are  always  found  ;  and  many 
a  counterfeiters'  cellar  and  thieves'  resort  of  Berlin  is  in  full  blast  in  some  sunken  floor, 
so  carefully  concealed  that  none  but  the  keen,  watchful  eyes  of  the  trained  police  and 
detectives  ever  spy  it  out.  But  there  are  others,  respectable  people,  who  are  con- 
tent or  compelled  to  take  a  modest  seat  on  the  social  ladder  of  Berlin,  who  live  year  after 
year  in  the  cellar  of  vast  apartment  houses  under  the  same  roof  with  people  who  are 
"respectable,"  "quite  proper,"  "desirable,"  and  "  very  much  sought,"  on  the  various 
floors  above  them.  Those  who  occupy  rear  rooms  do  not  stand  so  well  as  those  who 
have  front  rooms  ;  the  basement,  or  ground  floor,  and  the  first,  second,  and  third  floors, 
even  the  fourth  sometimes  are  good  apartments  :  "  but  the  fifth  and  sixth  fall  in  the  social 
scale  as  they  rise  into  the  fresh  pure  air." 

The  Luisenstadt,  another  new  quarter,  lies  below  the  island,  and  occupies  the 
southern  part  of  the  city,  below  the  Wall  strasse,  which  runs  in  the  same  direction  as 
the  lower  part  of  the  island,  just  below  the  left  arm  of  the  river.  The  Luisenstadt,  with 
all  its  thrift,  its  streets  lined  with  lofty  buildings  and  filled  with  large  numbers  of  people, 
has  sprung  up  during  the  last  thirty  years.  Its  great  public  buildings  are  few.  St. 
Michael's  Church  is  very  handsome  outside  ;  St.  Thomas',  inside  ;  and  the  large,  gloomy 
Bethanien  Hospital,  with  its  three  hundred  and  fifty  beds,  makes  up  for  being  homely  in 
taking  excellent  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  who  are  brought  to  it  day  and  night. 
This  is  a  manufacturing  district.  Here  are  crowded,  one  on  another,  establishments  for 
making  furniture,  working  metals,  tanning  leather,  and  opposite  to  them  are  the  great 
shawl  factories  and  cloth  mills,  and  near  by  hundreds  of  people  are  at  work  in  the 
gigantic  buildings  where  sugar  is  refined,  spirits  distilled,  paper,  silks,  sewing  machines, 
and  other  valuable  articles  in  Berlin  trade  are  made.  Bordering  upon  the  factories  are  vast 
blocks  occupied  by  yards  for  wool  and  for  wood  and  coal.  The  vegetable  gardens  are  fur- 
ther out  and  near  them  are  immense  markets  for  garden  produce  and  cattle.  In  the  midst 
and  the  vicinity  of  all  these  many  of  the  poor  of  the  great  city  live  in  their  great  shabby 
tenements,  so  striking  in  contrast  that  one  would  scarcely  believe  that  these  unpleasant, 
busy,  dirty  quarters  on  the  southern  and  eastern  outskirts  belong  to  the  same  city  as  the 
palace-lined  streets  of  the  Outer  Friedrichstadt  and  the  Privy  Councilors'  Quarter. 


Some  of  the  important  cities  in  Germany  and  other  monarchies  are  free  ;  that  is,  they 
can  make  their  own  laws  and  are  under  the  protection  of  the  Emperor,  but  subject  to 
no  other  power.  The  largest  of  German  free  cities  is  Hamburg,  which  is  also  a  free  port, 
having  to  pay  no  tax  itself  for  the  right  of  navigation,  but  receiving  a  toll  on  all  foreign 
shipping.-  These  good  privileges  were  granted  in  the  Thirteenth  Century  by  the  Emperor 
Francis  I.,  who  saw  that  the  insignificant  city,  five  hundred  years  old  then,  was  in  the 
right  place  to  become  a  strong  outpost  and  wealthy  seaport  ;  it  began  to  improve  at 


Germany. 


'33 


once,  and  has  ever  since  been  one  of  the  most  important  commercial  cities  of  the  world. 
With  its  port  of  Cuxhaven  it  commands  much  of  the  open  sea-coast  of  Germany  at  the 
mouth  of  the  mighty  Elbe  river,  which  here  forms  a  harbor  from  three  to  five  miles  wide. 
In  this  situation,  open  to  direct  connection  with  all  the  ports  of  the  North  Sea,  and  with- 
in a  short  distance  from  the  Baltic, 
Hamburg  ranks  among  the  first 
ports  of  Northern  Europe,  and  is 
second  only  to  Berlin  among  all 
German  cities.  Nearly  all  traces 
of  its  flourishing  medieval  days 
were  swept  away  by  the  great  fire 
of  1842.  The  city  therefore  is 
now  mainly  made  up  of  new  streets 
and  modern  buildings,  except  down 
by  the  harbor.  The  harbor  itself, 
with  many  vessels  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe,  is  always  full  of 
life  and  activity,  with  locks  and 
canals  overhung  by  great  cranes 
and  derricks  entirely  cutting  up 
the  central  and  eastern  part  of  the 
city.  The  old  fortifications  which 
encircled  the  inner  town  have  had 
an  eventful  history ;  they  kept 
out  every  enemy  during  the  Thirty 
Years'  War ;  but  had  to  yield  to 
Napoleon  in  1806,  whose  garrison 
suffered  deprivation  and  death 
under  the  Russian  siege  ;  in  the 
next  year  Hamburg  joined  the 
German  confederation  and  de- 
voted itself  to  its  own  affairs  ;  the 
walls  are  leveled  now,  and  are 
only  marked  by  the  handsome 
green  ring  of  boulevards  and 
promenades  between  the  old  town 

and  the  suburbs.  These  are  very  extensive,  including  some  adjoining  cities  and  a  popu- 
lation of  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Travelers  say  that  Hamburg  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  cities  in  Germany,  although  one  part  is  old  and  dingy,  and  its  narrow  streets 


CANAL    AT    HAMBURG. 


134 


Cities  of  the  World. 


are  overhung  with  half  decayed  houses  of  a  former  century.  "But  as  we  go  back  from 
the  river,  we  mount  higher,  and  come  into  an  entirely  different  town,  with  wide 
streets,  lined  with  large  fine  buildings.  The  peculiar  beauty  of  the  town  is  formed  by 

a  small  stream,  the 
Alster,  which  runs 
through  the  city  and 
empties  into  the 
Elbe,  and  which  is 
dammed  up  so  as  to 
form  two  very  pretty 
sheets  of  water,  one 
within  the  northern 
promenades,  separ- 
ated from  the  outer 
lake  by  a  handsome 
bridge."  Around 
the  inner  lake  are 
grouped  the  largest 
hotels  and  some  of 
the  finest  buildings 
in  the  city,  and  this 
is  the  center  of  its 
joyous  life,  especially 
at  the  close  of  day. 
When  evening  comes 
on  all  Hamburg 
flocks  to  the  "  Alster- 
dam',''  or  lake-em- 
bankment. Then  it 
is  the  brightest,  gay- 
est of  places.  The 
water  is  covered  with 
boats,  gliding  about 
among  the  tame 
swans  ;  "the  quays 
are  lighted  up  bril- 
liantly and  the  cafes 

swarm  with  people  ;  all  ages  are  abroad  enjoying  the  cool  evening  air."  Among  the  few 
grand  old  buildings  that  escaped  the  fire  there  are  three  beautiful  churches,  especially 


HAMBURG    MARKETWOMAN. 


Germany. 


135 


the  Nicholas  Church,  now  standing  in  an  open  square  on  one  of  the  largest  canals,  in 
the  vicinity  of  imposing  new  buildings.  The  spire  of  this  church  is  said  by  the  Ham- 
burgers to  be  a  few  feet  higher  than  the  Cathedral  of  Cologne  ;  the  guide-books  give  it 
at  four  hundred  and  seventy-three  feet,  or  the  third  highest  in  Europe — Cologne  and 
Rouen  being  more  lofty. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  city  is  a  peculiar  district  or  suburb  between  Hamburg 
and  the  adjoining  city  of 
Altona,  called  St.  Pauli. 
This  is  the  great  sailors' 
rendezvous,  best  known 
as  the  "burg"  of  Ham- 
burg. The  place,  from 
water  front  to  its  furthest 
northern  limits,  is  full  of 
theaters,  gardens,  cafes 
and  all  kinds  of  places 
of  outdoor  and  indoor 
amusements,  with  booths 
and  cheap  bazars,  and 
any  number  of  hawkers 
and  venders,  thriving  off 
the  continual  stream  of 
transient  tars  from  every 
clime. 

Active,  busy  Breslau, 
with  its  woolen  mills  and 
silk  looms  and  the  branch- 
ing Oder  calmly  flowing 
through  it,  does  not  look 
like  a  city  of  checkered 
history.  The  handsome 
lively  streets  or  the  grand 
old  buildings  do  not  show  SPRING  FLOODS  AT  HAMBURG. 

any  traces  of  its  having 

been  stormed  and  captured,  retaken  and  fought  over  for  centuries  ;  but  its  old  walls  saw 
the  sieges  ;  and,  whether  they  wanted  to  or  not,  did  their  stoutest  to  guard  the  Bohemians 
against  the  Poles,  as  shortly  before  they  had  shielded  the  Poles  from  the  Bohemians  ;  or 
it  was  the  Prussians  and  the  Austrians  that  alternately  held  or  stormed  the  city.  If  walls 
only  had  tongues  as  well  as  ears  !  But  after  all  it  would  do  us  no  good  now, 


136  Cities  of  the  World. 

for  they  have  been  taken  down  and  a  beautiful  tree-planted  promenade  lies  in  their  places, 
just  within  the  old  moat,  called  the  City  Canal.  These  are  crossed  by  some  very  fine  bridges 
and  overlooked  by  many  fine  buildings,  old  and  new.  The  Old  Town  thus  inclosed,  is  laid 
out  in  regular  squares,  and  crossed  about  midway  between  the  canal  and  the  center  by  a  set 
of  three  parallel  streets,  describing  almost  a  complete  half  circle  below  the  Oder,  where 
the  main  part  of  the  city  is  situated.  Every  thing  tends  toward  the  Ring,  a  large  square 
in  the  center,  which  has  always  been  the  busiest  part  of  the  town,  the  heart  of  trade  from 
which  the  main  arteries  are  the  central  streets  running  from  it  to  the  north  and  south 
and  to  the  east  and  west.  Breslau  is  the  third  city  of  Germany,  and  the  second  of  Prus- 
sia, having  about  three  hundred  thousand  people  ;  it  is  the  capital  of  Silesia,  and  stands 
in  the  center  of  a  large  manufacturing  district,  from  which  it  keeps  up  an  extensive  trade 
by  water  and  rail  with  important  cities  on  every  side.  Its  own  manufactures  yield  a 
large  income,  for  the  dress  goods  of  all  kinds,  the  ornaments,  machinery  and  articles 
used  in  housekeeping  made  here  in  the  Oder  Valley,  are  in  constant  demand.  The  gay 
stores  and  steady  business  push  of  the  inner  town  is  in  strange  contrast  with  irs  som- 
ber, massive  buildings  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  City  Hall  and  Coun- 
cil Chambers,  standing  in  the  Center  of  the  Ring,  are  among  the  most  magnificent  build- 
ings in  Prussia,  "  noble  monuments,"  they  are  called,  "  to  the  prosperous  age  of  Charles 
IV.  and  other  Luxemburg  monarchs."  The  University  stands  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Old  Town,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  with  some  of  its  buildings  on  an  island  opposite 
called  the  Sands.  The  most  celebrated  churches  of  Breslau  are  on  the  upper  bank, 
reached  from  the  island  and  the  main-land  by  several  bridges  ;  chief  among  them  is  the 
old  cathedral,  which  was  finished  in  the  fourteenth  century  after  four  hundred  years  of 
building. 

Dresden  has  long  been  famous  for  the  china-ware  manufactured  at  the  adjacent 
town  of  Meissen,  where  the  Royal  Porcelain  Manufactory  is  still  carried  on.  Unlike  most 
of  the  cities  grown  from  medieval  towns,  the  capital  of  Saxony  was  of  no  importance 
until  the  end  of  that  sleeping-time  in  art ;  and  it  came  into  note  with  the  Renaissance  at 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  introducing  the  ornamental  designing  in  its  pottery 
and  architecture,  for  which  it  has  been  called  the  "  Cradle  of  Rococo  Art." 

It  is  truly  German  in  having  a  center  stadt  or  old  town,  with  newer  parts  grouped 
about  it  ;  but  this  is  not  so  distinct  in  Dresden  as  in  many  older  cities.  It  is  about  the 
size  of  Bordeaux  in  France,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  ;  without  count- 
ing the  many  visitors  always  in  the  city,  for  the  fame  of  its  collections  has  spread  to  every 
part  of  the  world.  The  greatest  center  of  attraction  is  on  the  lower  bank  of  the  swift- 
flowing  Elbe,  along  which  there  are  many  of  the  most  magnificent  buildings  in  the  city. 
To  the  right  is  the  new  Court  Theater,  adjoining  a  fine  openplatzon  one  side  and  pretty 
garden  on  the  other,  both  embellished  with  fountain  and  statues.  The  front  of  the 
building,  in  which  are  the  ante-rooms  and  auditorium,  stands  out  in  a  large  semi-circle, 


Germany.  137 

with  a  magnificent  turreted  portico,  adorned  with  statues.  The  interior  is  gorgeously 
decorated  with  sculpture  in  marble,  colored  columns  and  paintings  upon  the  walls  and 
ceilings  by  eminent  artists.  Near  by,  with  the  great  square  of  the  Theater  Platz  separat- 
ing it  from  the  river,  is  the  elaborate  Zwinger  (or  Great  Court),  which,  vast  and  grand  as 
it  is,  was  intended  only  as  the  vestibule  of  a  palace  by  Augustus  II.,  called  the  Strong, 
who  died  in  1733,  before  his  splendid  plans  were  completed.  They  were  never  carried 
out,  but  the  Zwinger  was  finished  in  later  years,  in  a  set  of  pavilions,  connected  by  a 
gallery  of  one  story  and  inclosing  a  large  oblong  court,  which  is  laid  out  in  pleasure 
grounds  adorned  with  statuary  and,  in  summer,  with  orange  trees.  The  north-east  wing 
of  the  Zwinger  is  the  museum,  made  up  of  the  famous  picture  gallery,  engravings,  draw- 
ings and  a  room  of  casts.  The  remainder  and  the  pavilions  are  occupied  by  the  museum 
of  zoology  and  minerals  and  a  collection  of  mathematical  and  physical  instruments.  The 
pictures  are  arranged  in  a  long  series  of  rooms,  lighted  from  above  with  side  courts  ;  so 
you  are  not  bewildered  with  a  host  of  beautiful  objects  at  once,  but,  following  on,  see  one 
distinct  collection  after  another.  This  gallery  was  founded  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  but  already  ranks  with  the  Paris  Louvre,  the  Pitti  and  the  Uffizi  Palaces  of  Flor- 
ence, as  the  finest  in  the  world.  Opposite  the  eastern  end  of  the  Zwinger  there  is  a  fine 
open  platz  with  some  handsome  churches  adjacent  and  large  public  buildings  at  the  head 
of  the  parallel  rings  of  streets  ;  Prince's  Palate  is  part  of  the  vast,  irregular  old  pile  of 
the  King's  Palace  which  occupies  the  principal  place  among  the  massive  group  of  build- 
ings. The  Green  Gate  in  the  northern  fa9ade  is  surmounted  by  the  loftiest  tower  in 
Dresden,  and  leads  to  the  Great  Court  of  the  Palace,  through  which  you  pass,  full  of 
admiration  for  the  beautiful  work  of  by-gone  kings  you  see  on  every  side,  to  the  Green 
Vault,  a  wing  named  from  the  color  on  the  walls  of  one  room.  Here  is  the  most  precious 
collection  of  curiosities  in  the  world, — jewels,  trinkets  and  small  works  of  art,  ornaments 
wrought  by  goldsmiths  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cenuries,  enamels  of  Limoges, 
carved  ivories  and  cut  crystals.  There  are  also  other  most  interesting  cabinets  in  the 
Palace,  and  the  Royal  Gallery  of  Arms,  adjoining ;  but  still  further  beyond  rises  the  old 
Johanneum  on  the  corner  of  the  New  Market,  where  the  celebrated  historical  museum 
is  kept.  This  is  the  most  important  and  valuable  collection  of  historical  relics  in  Ger- 
many. There  are  weapons  and  armor,  household  articles  and  wearing  apparel  labeled 
and  arranged  according  to  date  ;  they  range  from  objects  used  in  the  sixteenth  century 
down,  showing  the  life  and  customs  of  people  of  earlier  days. 

Besides  these  there  are  many  things  that  have  been  owned  and  used  by  famous  people  : 
a  chair,  a  cabinet,  and  two  rings  that  belonged  to  Martin  Luther  and  a  suit  made  of 
silver  for  Christian  II.  of  Saxony.  The  collection  is  divided  into  different  sections,  there 
being  the  Pistol  Chamber,  the  Battle  Saloon  with  suits  of  armor,  blood  stained  clothing, 
swords,  weapons  and  many  other  things  from  the  famous  battle  fields  of  Germany  ;  the 
Saddle  Chamber,  with  ancient  trappings  of  the  Saxon  Kings  and  Electors  ;  the  Cos- 


138  Cities  of  the  World. 

tume  Chamber,  in  which  are  the  coat  and  boots  worn  by  Napoleon  I.  at  the  battle  of 
Dresden,  and  many  others.  The  Johanneum  has  also  a  collection  of  porcelain  contain- 
ing about  fifteen  thousand  pieces  arranged  according  to  their  age.  It  is  the  finest  col- 
lection in  the  world,  and  includes  ware  made  in  China,  Japan,  East  India,  France  and 
Italy  ;  while  that  of  Dresden  itself,  from  the  first  attempt  of  Bottger  early  in  1700  down 
to  the  present  day,  the  other  modern  European  manufactures  of  SeVres,  Berlin,  etc.,  is 
most  interesting  of  all. 

All  around  the  Johanneum  there  are  other  buildings, — Academies,  collections  and 
galleries,  and  in  front  of  them  is  the  Briihl  Terrace,  a  celebrated  promenade  along  the 
river.  A  broad  flight  of  steps,  decorated  with  gilded  groups  of  Night,  Morning,  Noon 
and  Evening  in  sandstone,  descends  from  the  gardens,  the  pretty  walks,  cafe's  and  other 
out-door  attractions  of  the  Terrace,  to  the  Schloss  Platz,  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
Augustus  Bridge,  leading  to  the  Neu  Stadt.  This  is  the  center  bridge  and  the  finest  of  the 
three  crossing  the  Elbe  at  Dresden,  all  of  which  are  masterpieces  of  bridge-building.  The 
Marien  Bridge  further  west  leads  to  the  gardens  of  the  Japanese  Palace,  which  is  chiefly 
noted  for  its  collection  of  antique  vases,  bronzes,  terra-cottas,  tombs  and  statues,  and 
the  more  important  royal  public  library,  which  was  founded  some  time  in  1500  by  the 
Elector  Augustus.  The  center  of  the  New  Town  is  a  large  circular  place  called  the 
Alberts  Platz,  from  which  very  broad  and  handsome  streets  radiate  in  every  direction. 
One  of  them  leads  to  the  Japanese  Palace,  with  its  beautiful  gardens  on  the  upper 
bank  of  the  river  ;  others  go  through  a  district  entirely  built  up  with  large  barracks  and 
military  hospitals,  a  town  in  themselves ;  but  the  main  avenue  and  the  handsomest  one 
is  wider  than  all  the  others  and  planted  with  double  rows  of  trees  ;  it  connects  the  Platz  with 
the  Augustus  Bridge  in  the  great  Market  Place  above  the  quay.  This  is  a  lively  place 
at  all  times,  but  especially  so  on  market  days,  when  you  have  the  best  of  chances  to  see 
Dresden  at  work.  The  chief  play-ground,  or  pleasure  garden  of  the  city  is  tr\e  Great 
Garden  (used  the  same  as  we  say  park},  on  the  south-eastern  outskirts.  It  is  reached  from 
the  Old  Town  by  a  long  and  slightly  curving  set  of  promenades  planted  with  trees  called 
the  Biirgerweise.  About  midway  along  this  beautiful  set  of  garden-streets  stands  the 
grounds  and  stately  buildings  of  Prince  George's  Palace,  while  the  adjoining  streets  con- 
tain some  of  the  most  magnificent  new  residences  to  be  seen  in  any  city.  The  Great 
Garden  is  a  royal  park  of  about  three  hundred  acres,  with  the  Lust  Schloss  or  Palace  of 
Pleasure  in  the  center.  This  was  built  for  a  royal  chateau  in  1680,  but  is  now  used  for 
the  royal  Museum  of  Antiquities,  chiefly  of  objects  made  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

This  park  is  large  and  particularly  beautiful,  the  resort  of  all  classes  of  people. 
There  are  plenty  of  restaurants  and  cafes  and  in  summer-time  a  band  plays  regularly. 
The  people  stroll  in  family  groups  or  seat  themselves  in  pleasant  companies  in  the  cafe, 
when  one  and  all  drink  the  national  beverage.  On  a  holiday  evening,  thousands  enjoy 
themselves  in  this  way.  There  are  a  number  of  fine  animals  in  the  Zoological  Garden, 
which  occupies  the  lower  part  of  the  park. 


Germany. 


139 


With  its  academies,  schools,  institutes  and  superb  collections,  Dresden  has  better 
opportunities  for  education  than  almost  any  city  on  the  continent  ;  there  is  a  large 
English  quarter,  made  up  of  families,  who  have  found  they  could  live  economically  and 
comfortably  while  giving  their  boys  and  girls  the  best  instruction  and  associations.  The 
most  famous  art  city  in  Germany  is  Munich.  It  is  made  up  of  an  endless  succession  of 
extensive  and  magnificent  palaces  in  which  are  gathered  some  of  the  richest  treasures 
of  paintings,  sculpture  and  all  other  branches  of  art  in  the  world.  It  lies  at  a  height  of 


THE        BAVARIA        AND    THE    HALL    OF    FAME,    MUNICH. 

almost  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  "  Iser,  rolling  rapid- 
ly." It  was  a  little  town,  known  in  the  twelfth  century  ;  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  but 
without  any  celebrity,  until  the  reign  of  Ludwig  I.  Now  almost  every  church,  palace  and 
public  hall,  representing  all  the  fine  styles  of  architecture,  is  worthy  a  separate  description, 
with  their  galleries  and  cabinets,  nearly  all  of  which  have  been  raised  during  the  last  fifty 
years.  To  visit  Munich  thoroughly  is  a  journey,  almost  wearisome,  through  broad  streets, 
extensively  laid  out  with  one  sumptuous  edifice  after  another  ;  but  many  strangers  go 


140  Cities  of  the  World. 

there  to  live.  It  is  a  cheaper  place  of  residence  than  any  other  in  Germany,  and  in 
addition  to  its  vast  attractions  in  art  has  a  fine  university,  called  the  Ludwig-Maximilian, 
and  a  great  many  special  schools  and  institutes  for  scientific  and  literary  study.  Although 
it  is  as  large  as  Dresden  in  population,  it  is  not  very  thriving  in  a  business  way,  excepting 
the  iron,  brass  and  bell  foundries,  and  its  numbers  of  engravers,  lithographers  and 
manufacturers  of  fine  scientific  instruments,  who  have  a  world-wide  fame.  The  Germans 
think  much  of  Munich  as  the  place  where  their  best  Bavarian  beer  is  made  ;  the  enor- 
mous breweries  are  royal  institutions  and  an  important  part  of  the  city,  employing  a  great 
many  people.  Other  factories  supply  moderate  quantities  of  some  common  articles  of 
general  use.  One  can  hardly  remember  the  names  of  all  the  galleries,  museums,  and 
palatial  buildings  ;  it  is  difficult  to  pick  out  even  half  a  dozen  more  interesting  than  the 
others. 

One  that  is  the  oftenest  referred  to,  perhaps,  is  the  Old  Pinakothek,  which  is  named 
from  the  Greek  and  means,  "  repository  of  pictures."  It  is  said  to  be  the  noblest  picture 
gallery  in  Europe  ;  it  contains  hall  after  hall  of  almost  fourteen  hundred  beautiful 
paintings.  The  New  Pinakothek,  although  it  is  not  so  grand  a  building,  is  celebrated 
for  the  great  frescoes  representing  the  development  of  art,  on  the  outside  ;  it  has,  within, 
a  vast  collection  of  paintings  by  the  greatest  modern  artists.  The  Glyptothek  is  the 
"  repository  of  sculptures  ;  "  a  building  of  the  Greek  style  outside,  with  Roman  interior, 
devoted  to  ancient  statuary.  The  Ruhmeshalle,  or  Hall  of  Fame,  that  stands  above  the 
city,  is  almost  always  visited  by  strangers,  less  on  account  of  its  collections  than  to  see 
the  wonderful  statue  of  Bavaria  standing  at  the  head  of  the  staircase  on  the  terrace 
leading  to  the  Hall.  The  bronze  figure,  with  a  lion  by  her  side,  is  about  seventy  feet 
high,  and  of  splendid  workmanship  ;  a  spiral  staircase  in  the  center  leads  to  the  head, 
from  which  there  is  a  wide  view  of  the  city.  The  Royal  Palace,  about  the  most  ancient 
building  in  the  place,  has  many  apartments  of  the  most  unique  and  curious  collections  in 
Munich,  beside  paintings  and  sculpture  ;  the  curiosities  are  of  crystals,  miniatures  and  a 
fantastic  shell  grotto.  In  the  Festsaalbau,  or  building  of  festive  halls,  six  of  the  saloons 
are  decorated  with  wall  paintings  from  the  Odyssey,  telling  the  story  of  the  principal 
events  in  the  journey  of  Ulysses,  the  Greek  hero,  who  was  carried  by  storms  and  oracles 
far  out  of  his  homeward  way,  after  the  Trojan  war.  The  apartments  called  the 
Konigsbau,  adjoining,  are  in  imitation  of  the  Pitti  Palace  at  Florence,  and  have  a  series 
of  frescoes  telling  the  story  of  the  Niebelungen  Lied.  This  famous  legend  comes  from 
some  old  manuscript  copies  of  a  poem,  whose  age  and  author  are  unknown.  It  is  the 
greatest  epic  poem  in  the  German  language  and  describes  the  wonderful  deeds  of  the 
the  race  of  Niebelungen,  who  are  finally  conquered  by  Siegsfried.  The  miraculous 
achievements  of  this  hero,  his  death  and  that  of  his  avenged  queen  make  up  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  story.  The  Munich  cemetery,  which  Mr.  Longfellow  has  told  us  is 
called  "  God's  acre,"  is  also  called  the  "  Friedhof,"  or  "  Court  of  Peace  ; "  it  is  very 


Germany. 


141 


extensive  and  contains  some  interesting  monuments  and  the  scene  once  common  in  Ger- 
many, but  now  confined  to  Munich,  of  depositing  bodies  "  with  coffin  lid  raised  to 
show  the  sleeping  form  "  in  a  kind 
of  corridor  behind  a  glass  screen, 
where  they  lie  until  the  regular 
time  of  burial,  when  the  lids  of 
the  coffins  to  be  buried  are  closed, 
and  the  priest  or  pastor  comes, 
and  holds  a  short  service  at  the 
grave. 

A  large  number  of  the  Ger- 
man immigrants  to  this  country 
come  from  the  thriving  manufac- 
turing city  of  Bremen.  This  is 
situated  on  the  Weser  river,  about 
forty  miles  from  where  it  empties 
into  the  North  Sea  ;  and  next  to 
Hamburg  it  is  the  largest  free 
city  of  the  Empire,  being  second 
to  that  city  also  in  maritime  trade. 
The  Old  Town  is  on  the  upper 
bank,  with  its  garden-promenades 
on  the  site  of  the  medieval  fortifi- 
cation, where  the  serpentine  moat 
is  still  full  of  water  ;  the  quaint 
market  place  is  in  the  center,  and 
many  fine  public  buildings  of 
another  century,  stand  in  large, 
open  squares,  or  the  irregular 
curving  streets ;  several  bridges 
cross  the  main  stream,  or  the 
Weser  branch  to  the  left  bank, 
where  the  New  Town  has  been 
built  up  since  the  Thirty  Years' 
War.  Bremen  is  larger  in  extent 
for  the  number  of  people  living  LUTHER'S  HOUSE,  FRANKFORT. 

in  it  than  most  towns,  because  the 

houses  usually  have  only  one  family;  the  people  are  mainly  occupied  by  the   great  fac- 
tories,   where   woolens,  cottons,  paper   and   cigars  are  made  ;  in  shipbuilding,  brew- 


142  Cities  of  the  World. 

cries,  distilleries,  and  sugar  refineries.  The  river  will  not  admit  large  vessels  at  all 
tides,  so  it  has  a  port,  Bremerhaven,  about  ten  miles  from  the  sea.  This  has  fine  docks 
and  quays,  furnished  with  improved  magazines  and  cranes,  and  carries  on  an  active 
trade  with  foreign  countries,  particularly  the  United  States.  An  equally  famous  city  of 
the  size  of  Bremen — two  hundred  thousand  people — is  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  Its 
reputation  is  not  so  much  for  work,  however,  as  for  wealth,  which  is  said  to  be  greater 
for  its  size  than  any  other  in  the  world. 

"  If  its  wealth  were  equally  divided  among  its  inhabitants,  every  man,  woman  and 
child  would  have,  it  is  said,  20,000  marks,  or  some  $5,000  apiece.  Although  there  are  a 
good  many  poor  people  in  the  town,  most  of  the  citizens  are  in  unusually  comfortable 
circumstances.  It  is  stated  that  there  are  one  hundred  Frankforters  worth  from  about 
$4,000,000  to  $7,000,000  each,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  who  are  worth  $3,000,000  and 
upward.  The  city  is  one  of  the  great  banking  centers  of  the  globe.  Its  aggregate  bank- 
ing capital  is  estimated  at  $2,000,000,000,  more  than  one-fourth  of  which  the  famous 
Rothschilds  own  and  control,  whose  original  and  parent  house  is  there.  Its  general  trade 
and  manufacturing  industries  are  not  small ;  some  of  the  most  important  are  the  making 
of  carpets,  jewelry,  sewing-machines  and  tobacco,  and  the  publishing  and  selling  of 
books.  These  interests  have  greatly  increased  since  the  formation  of  the  German 
Empire,  to  which  Frankfort  was  originally  averse,  being  a  free  city  and  an  opponent  of 
Prussia.  It  was  coerced,  in  July,  1866,  by  General  Von  Falkenstein,  who  entered  it  at 
the  head  of  an  army  and  imposed  a  fine  of  31,000,000  florins,  \>r  over  twelve  million  of 
dollars,  for  its  insubordination." 

I 

"  The  old  watch-towers  show  the  jealously  guarded  limits  of  the  '  Free  Imperial  City, 
but,  as  in  Vienna,  the  vast  ancient  ramparts  have  been  leveled  and  the  Ring,  here  called 
Anlagen,  beautifully  planted  and  adorned  with  sumptuous  private  and  public  buildings, 
gives  an  air  of  nobleness  to  the  city."  Beyond  the  tower  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Cathe- 
dral there  are  few  attractive  buildings.  Its  real  interest  is  in  its  history,  beginning  with 
the  time  when  Charlemagne  selected  the  "  Ford  of  the  Franks  "  for  a  great  convoca- 
tion of  bishops  and  nobles.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  city's  growth,  after  which  it 
increased  in  importance,  till  it  finally  was  chosen  as  the  place  for  the  imperial  elections. 

In  Frankfort  stand  two  private  houses  which  to  many  are  of  greater  interest  than 
any  thing  else  in  the  city — in  the  Hirschgraben,  is  the  place  where  Goethe  was  born  ; 
and  not  far  from  it,  in  the  Cathedral  Square,  the  long,  narrow  house,  with  its  three- 
sided  abutment  of  bay  windows  from  first  story  to  its  gabled  roof,  is  where  Martin 
Luther  once  lived.  The  Frankfort  Jews'  Quarter,  like  those  in  Prague,  Vienna,  and 
other  German  cities,  was  long  kept  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  city,  and  was  a  gloomy  ^ 
close  and  squalid  and  almost  separate  colony ;  but  it  is  not  a  poor  quarter  in  another 
sense.  The  Rothschilds  and  other  famous  and  wealthy  houses  were  founded  here  :  the 
Jews  now  mingle  with  other  residents  on  equal  terms. 


Germany. 


One  of  the  most  famous  cities  in  the  world  is  Cologne.  It  is  the  largest  town  on 
the  Rhine,  and  although  comparatively  little  of  it  is  ever  described  beyond  the  wonderful 
Cathedral,  without  this  it  would  be  far  from  insignificant.  It  was  founded  about  half  a 
century  before  Christ,  bift  later  came  to  have  the  name  of  Cologne,  from  being  called  the 
Colonia  Agrippina,  after  the  wife  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Claudius,  whose  colonists  settled 
here.  It  is  surrounded  by  strong  walls  and  protected  by  forts.  On  the  opposite  bank  is 
the  town  of  Deutz,  which  is  a  suburb  of  the  city,  reached  by  a  bridge  of  boats  and  a  fine 
iron  suspension  bridge  for  railway  and  carriage  traffic.  Cologne  is  the  capital  of  Rhenish 


COLOGNE,    AND    THE    BRIDGE    OF    BOATS. 

Prussia — a  frontier  country — and  is  well  situated  for  commerce,  which  has  always  been 
extensive  and  is  now  growing  important.  There  are  several  kinds  of  manufactures 
carried  on,  too  :  articles  for  household  use  and  furniture,  chemicals,  tobacco,  and  the 
spirits  of  wine,  beside  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  bottles  of  perfumery  water,  named 
after  the  city  eau-de-Cologne  (water  from  Cologne),  and  famous  all  over  the  world.  The 
streets  are  the  narrow,  crooked  by-ways  of  medieval  times,  overhung  by  massive  and 
picturesque  buildings,  a  great  many  of  which  are  churches.  It  used  to  be  said  that 


144  Cities  of  the  World. 

Cologne  had  a  church  for  every  day  in  the  year.  Several  of  them  are  of  beautiful  archi- 
tecture and  decoration,  and  contain  relics  to  which  the  guides  attach  the  most  improbable 
stories  ;  but  none  can  compare  with  the  majesty  and  beauty  of  the  grand  old  Cathedral,  the 
most  magnificent  Gothic  structure  ever  erected  by  human  hands.  It  is  a  forest  of  stone, 
in  the  form  of  a  cross,  five  hundred  feet  long,  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  wide,  rising, 
tier  on  tier,  to  its  lofty  pointed  roof,  above  which  the  two  front  towers  rise  to  five  hundred 
feet,  with  a  smaller  iron  spire  in  the  center  of  the  roof.  No  other  work  of  man  can  com- 
pare with  its  long  nave  and  pillared  aisles  ;  perhaps  "  the  avenue  of  New  Haven  elms 
comes  nearest  to  it."  The  mighty  work  was  begun  some  time  in  1200 — it  is  not  known 
just  when,  nor  from  whose  design — and  was  finished  in  1880.  It  is  said  to  be  the  largest 
in  the  world  ;  and  its  towers  the  highest.  There  is  nothing  in  Europe  so  high,  but  the 
Monument  to  Washington,  at  the  United  States  capital,  towers  fifty  feet  above  them. 

The  greatest  .university  city  in  Germany  is  Leipsic,  the  "town  of  the  lime-trees," 
near  the  western  border  of  Prussia,  with  the  Elster,  the  Pleisse  and  the  Parthe  rivers 
flowing  through  or  past  it.  The  laboratories  and  halls  of  the  university  are  scattered 
through  the  quaint,  narrow  streets  of  the  Inner  Town,  or  upon  the  wide,  well-built 
avenues  and  spacious  squares  of  the  newer  quarters  ;  but  the  main  building  is  one  of  the 
beautiful  group  surrounding  the  Augustus  Platz,  between  the  Old  Town  and 
the  eastern  suburb.  This  is  a  stately,  vacant  looking  platz  usually,  with  its  magnificent 
buildings  and  sculptured  monuments  ;  but  when  the  great  Eastern  fair  is  held,  it  teems 
with  life.  Then  book- sellers  throng  the  city  from  far  and  near,  to  attend  the  annual 
trade  convention  in  the  Book  Sellers  Exchange  ;  for  Leipsic  is  the  principal  place  in 
Germany — or  the  world,  after  London  and  Paris,  for  every  thing  connected  with  the 
"book-trade.  At  the  Eastern  fair  over  a  thousand  selling  or  publishing  houses  are  repre- 
sented, in  this  city  ;  there  are  three  hundred  book-stores  in  Leipsic  alone,  and  over  fifty 
^printing  establishments,  which  has  led  to  a  great  type-foundry  business  here,  also,  which 
is  the  largest  in  the  empire.  Altogether,  the  transactions  during  the  three  or  four  weeks 
of  the  Eastern  fair  amount  to  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  This  is  not  entirely  from  books 
but  largely  so,  in  the  bargains  for  the  regular  yearly  trade  and  special  sale  of  rare  vol- 
umes and  literary  curiosities.  It  is  attended  by  Europeans,  Americans,  Jews,  Turks, 
Greeks,  Armenians,  Persians,  and  even  Chinese.  There  are  two  other  fairs  held  here 
every  year  ;  the  most  important  being  the  June  Wool  Market.  The  Augustus  Platz  is 
overlooked  by  the  magnificent  buildings  of  the  museum,  the  New  Theater,  one  of  the 
finest  in  Germany,  and  the  Augusteum  or  main  part  of  the  University.  Adjoining  this 
there  are  handsome  gardens  with  a  lake,  skirted  by  the  promenades  laid  out  over  the  old 
fortifications.  These  now  serve  to  mark  the  dividing  line  between  the  Old  Town  of  the 
eleventh  century,  and  the  newer  city  lying  about  it  on  all  sides.  These  promenades  are 
a  favorite  resort  for  students  and  town  people,  who  linger  here  by  thousands  "  when 
.comes  still  evening  on."  The  walks  are  planted  with  beautiful  avenues  of  lime  and 


Germany. 


'45 


chestnut  trees,  which  broaden  out  into  little  parks  in  several  places.  In  the  center  of 
the  Old  Town  is  the  Market  Place,  where  the  quaint  tower  of  the  ancient  Town  Hall  rises 
above  lofty  antique  mansions  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  In  a  walk 
through  any  of  the  streets  running  from  here  you  would  see  a  great  many  of  these  old 
houses,  standing  closely  packed  together,  as  if  to  leave  no  space  room  for  modern  archi- 
tecture to  wedge  itself  in.  Near  the  Market  Place,  on  the  finest  street  leading  to  the 
University,  is  Auerbachs'  Cellar,  the  famous  restaurant  where  Goethe  has  laid  a  scene  in 
his  drama  of  "  Faust  ;  "  it  has  always  been  a  rendezvous  for  students  ;  the  great  poet 


TOWN    HALL,    LEIPSIC. 

who  used  to  come  here  very  often,  saw,  as  you  and  I  can  see  now,  the  Faust  legend 
in  ancient  fresco  paintings  on  the  walls.  Schiller  lived  in  Leipsic  once,  too  ;  the  house 
is  above  the  Market  Place,  in  Hain  Strasse,  where,  also,  the  great  composer,  Richard 
Wagner,  was  born.  This  street  is  now  a  resort  for  Jews  who  come  to  the  fairs,  and  is 
taken  up  with  the  fur  stores  and  other  shops  of  a  great  many  Jewish  dealers.  Everywhere 
in  the  midst  of  the  life  and  pleasure  of  the  living  Leipsic  there  are  monuments  and  tab- 
lets, reminding  you  of  great  men  who  have  been  here  in  the  past.  In  the  Concert  Room 
of  the  Library  Mendelssohn  conducted  the  orchestra  and  chorus  some  fifty  years  ago  ; 


146  Cities  of  the  World. 

and  the  conservatory  of  music,  which  is  the  most  famous  in  Europe,  has  a  long,  long  list 
of  celebrated  men  that  have  been  connected  with  it  ;  but  greater  names  than  these 
stands  on  the  roll  of  the  University.  This  is  chief  among  all  other  places  in  the  city  ;  it 
was  established  in  the  first  years  of  1400,  after  the  dispute  at  Prague  between  the  Ger- 
mans and  Bohemians.  There  are  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  professors  and  lecturers,  and 
about  three  thousand  students,  more  than  any  other  in  Germany,  the  land  of  Universi- 
ties,— with  Halle  excelling  in  theology ;  Gottingen,  in  jurisprudence,  with  Tubingen 
and  half-a-dozen  others,  to  say  nothing  of  Berlin  and  "enchanting  Heidelburg,"  as 
famous  for  its  beautiful  scenery  as  its  great  lecturers.  It  is  due  to  the  University  that 
Leipsic  is  so  great  a  center  for  literary  and  intellectual  life,  and  that  it  is  so  wonder- 
fully well  supplied  with  libraries,  museums  and  other  educational  advantages  as  it  is. 

Magdeburg,  on  the  Elbe,  in  Prussian  Saxony,  is  one  of  the  most  strongly  fortified 
towns  in  the  kingdom  ;  it  is  also  famous  for  commerce  and  trade  by  water  and  the  great 
railways  that  meet  here,  and  is  a  familiar  name  in  history.  Martin  Luther  spent  his  boy- 
hood here  ;  he  used  to  sing  in  the  streets  and  receive  the  bounty  of  the  people.  Otto 
von  Guericke,  who  invented  the  air-pump  and  astonished  the  imperial  diet  with  his 
"  hemisphere  experiment,"  was  burgomaster  of  Magdeburg,  and  named  his  great  experi- 
ment with  air  the  "  Magdeburg  Hemispheres." 

The  city  has  had  an  important  place  in  the  religious  troubles  of  Germany  ever  since 
967,  when  it  was  chosen  by  Pope  John  XIII.  as  the  see  of  the  primate  of  the  Old  Em- 
pire. The  archbishops  and  town  officers  were  often  at  war  during  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and 
when  the  city  adopted  the  doctrines  of, reform,  it  drew  down  the  wrath  of  both  the 
emperor  and  the  archbishops.  But  even  these  troubles  were  far  short  of  the  calamities 
that  fell  upon  the  fortress  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  For  twenty-eight  weeks  it  stood 
the  siege  of  the  imperialists,  but,  betrayed  by  one  of  the  inhabitants  to  Tilly,  who 
entered  it  and  spent  three  days  in  sacking  it  ;  the  enemy  put  it  to  flames  and  the  most 
wanton  destruction  from  which  the  cathedral  and  only  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses 
escaped.  Thirty  thousand  people  were  slain,  and  a  great  many  thrown  into  the  river.  In 
house  No.  164  in  Breiteweg — Broadway — the  betrayer  of  the  city  used  to  live  ;  in  front  of 
it  you  now  see  :  REMEMBER  THE  IOTH  MAY,  1631.  This  street  is  long  and  wide,  but 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  town  the  busy  thoroughfares  are  nearly  all  narrow  and  crooked. 
Magdeburg  and  its  archbishopric  became  a  duchy  in  1648,  of  the  house  of  Brandenburg  ; 
in  the  early  part  of  the  century  it  was  taken  by  the  French,  but  restored  again  to  Prussia 
with  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  eight  years  later.  It  is  now  the  Prussian  Saxony  capital, 
thrivingly  busy,  and  inhabited  by  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  as  many 
as  there  are  in  Montreal,  Canada. 


ENCHANTING     HEIDELBERG. 


SCANDINAVIA. 


THE  great  sea-girt  countries  of  Scandinavia  are  far  more  familiar  to  most  young 
people  as  the  land  of  the  Northmen  than  of  any  nineteenth  century  greatness  ;  but  the 
adventurous  old  sea-kings  are  gone  like  the  fairies,  "  ages  and  ages  ago,"  and  in  their 
places  large  and  civilized  nations  possess  the  beech  groves  and  pine  forests,  lakes,  fiords 
and  rocky  shores  of  the  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun. 

Of  the  three  kingdoms,  Denmark  is  the  smallest,  the  most  southerly  and  the  most 
important.  Adjoining  the  German  state  of  Sleswick-Holstein,  this  little  kingdom  is 
situated  on  the  peninsular  of  Jutland  and  on  the  group  of  islands  that  crowd  the 
Kattegat,  a  broad  arm  of  the  Baltic  between  Jutland  and  Sweden.  On  the  most  easterly 
of  these,  looking  across  The  Sound  to  Sweden  is  Copenhagen,  the  capital. 

The  city  lies  partly  upon  the  island  of  Zealand  and  partly  upon  the  upper  point  of 
the  much  smaller  island  of  Amager  in  the  Sound,  separated  by  a  deep  strait,  which  forms 
the  Copenhagen  Harbor.  It  is  this,  now  lined  with  docks  and  always  filled  with  ships, 
that  first  gave  the  city  an  existence  as  well  as  its  name,  which  means  Merchants'  Haven. 
Some  of  the  quays  are  broad,  well  paved  and  planted  with  trees.  The  grim,  unsightly  old 
ramparts  have  been  replaced  on  the  land  side  by  boulevards,  but  the  batteries  and 
fortifications  toward  the  sea  still  stand.  The  appearance  of  the  city  has  altered  very 
much  during  the  last  fifteen  years.  The  walls  have  been  leveled,  the  streets  enlarged 
and  new  buildings  raised,  all  in  welcome  of  returning  commerce  and  trade  after  the 
troubles  with  Germany  that  came  to  an  end  in  1866.  The  fashionable  quarter  occupies 
the  north-eastern  portion  of  the  city,  with  lofty  gabled  and  dormer  houses,  often  six 
stories  high,  and  great  buildings  severely  decorated  with  escutcheons  and  national 
devices.  To  the  northward  is  the  citadel  and  adjoining  public  gardens  and  walks  on  the 
shores  of  the  Sound,  and  near  by  the  handsome  Amalienborg  square,  is  where  the 
royal  palaces  stand,  which  are  occupied  by  the  King,  Christian  IX.,  the  Crown  Prince, 
and  one  of  the  state  ministers.  The  north-west  corner  of  the  town  is  a  mariners'  quarter, 
where  sea-faring  men  and  their  families  have  had  their  homes  for  two  centuries  in  the 
one-storied  houses  that  line  the  blocks  of  parallel  streets.  Below  the  vicinity  of  the 
Jack  Tars'  cottages  is  the  most  beautiful  place  in  Copenhagen,  the  Rosenberg  Palace, 
standing  at  the  end  of  a  stately  old  garden.  This  was  built  for  a  royal  residence  early 
in  1600,  but  it  has  been  a  museum-palace  for  the  last  century  and  a  half,  with  many 


1 50  Cities  of  the   World. 

rooms  full  of  things  that  belonged  to  Christian  IV.,  the  first  Danish  monarch  who 
lived  in  it,  and  all  who  have  followed  him  ;  the  latest  things  are  of  the  date  1863. 
Adjoining  the  Palace  is  the  Rosenberg  Garden,  which  is  usually  filled  with  children 
and  their  nursery  maids.  "  There  in  the  sunny  afternoons  of  the  long  Northern  summer 
days  one  may  see  children  sporting  in  the  long  avenue  overhung  with  grateful  shade, 
at  the  end  of  which,  in  a  little  garden  plat,  stands  the  statue  of  Hans  Christian 
Andersen,"  the  great  Danish  story-teller.  Copenhagen  was  Andersen's  home  during  a 
part  of  his  life,  and  here  many  of  his  wonderful  tales  are  laid.  You  can  see  the  very 
East  Street  mentioned  in  the  "  Goloshes  of  Fortune,"  narrow,  winding,  and  now-a-days 
lined  with  many  French-looking  stores  ;  in  front  of  the  Fredericks  Hospital  is  the  iron 
picket  fence  "  through  which  the  unfortunate  young  man  thrust  his  head,"  and  there  is 
also  Holmens  Kanal,  from  which  Andersen  started  in  his  "  Journey  on  Foot."  From  the 
Kanal  there  is  quite  a  fine  view  of  the  business  part  of  the  city,  which  lies  below  the 
aristocratic  quarter.  In  about  the  center,  between  the  two,  is  the  Kongens  Nytorv,  or 
King's  New  Market,  a  modern-looking  circular  place  with  trees  surrounding  a  statue  in 
the  center.  From  here  a  canal  with  its  broad  quays,  its  shipping  and  warehouses  runs 
eastward  to  the  Harbor,  and  the  broad  Gothengade  (street)  in  the  opposite  direction,  leads 
past  the  Rosenberg  Gardens  and  Boulevard  to  the  pleasant  walks  of  the  Botanical  Gardens. 
Thirteen  streets  radiate  from  the  Market,  of  which  the  Oestergade  is  the  gayest  and 
the  handsomest  with  its  fine  shops  and  steady  stream  of  people.  Copenhagen  is  a  city, 
full  of  active,  energetic  people  ;  they  are  mainly  merchants  and  students,  "  each  all 
Dane  "  for  the  time,  though  natives  of  many  lands.  In  this  lower  part  of  the  city,  with 
its  narrow,  crooked  and  irregular  streets,  an  arm  running  from  the  Harbor  forms  a  large 
and  almost  square  island  occupied  by  the  Christianborg  Palace  and  adjoining  buildings, 
the  most  notable  group  in  the  city.  The  vast  courts  of  the  palace  contain  the  halls  of 
the  Royal  Picture  Gallery,  the  Upper  and  Lower  Chambers  of  the  Danish  Parliament, 
the  Supreme  Law  Courts,  the  fine  Royal  Library,  the  Royal  Stables  and  the  Arsenal. 
Adjoining  the  Palace,  on  the  harbor  quay,  is  the  picturesque  red  brick  building  of  the 
Exchange,  with  its  famous  dragon  spire,  formed  of  three  marvelous  dragons  with  their 
tails,  twisted  together  in  the  air,  reaching  a  height  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  "  A  queer 
building,  in  the  shadow  of  the  palace,  which  attracts  notice  by  its  frescoed  walls,  is  the 
Thorwaldsen  Museum,  where  Denmark  has  collected  all  the  works  and  memorials  of  her 
greatest  artist,  Bertel  Thorwaldsen."  It  contains  either  originals  or  copies  of  all  the 
statuary  the  celebrated  sculptor  ever  made.  Crossing  the  Harbor  by  the  lower  bridge 
you  reach  the  Vor  Frelsers  Kirke,  or  Church  of  Our  Redeemer,  which  has  a  winding 
staircase  on  the  outside  of  the  steeple  to  the  figure  of  the  Saviour  on  the  summit.  The 
view  from  here  extends  even  to  the  coast  of  Sweden,  across  the  Sound.  The  Vor  Frue 
Kirke,  or  Church  of  Our  Land,  with  its  beautiful  marble  statuary  by  Thorwaldsen,  and 
the  Trinity  Church,  with  its  famous  old  Round  Tower,  ascended  by  a  winding  brick 


Stockholm.  151 

causeway,  so  wide  that  horses  can  be  driven  up  and  down  it,  are  in  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  city,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  University.  This  is  attended  by  over  a  thousand 
students,  and  here  is  a  Danish  "  Latin  Quarter,"  where  many  men  are  supported  by  the 
government  while  they  carry  on  studies  in  the  highest  branches  of  learning.  It  is  a 
great  center  for  other  than  Danish  students  and  is  the  seat  of  many  important  societies 
for  the  advancement  of  art  and  the  literature  of  the  North.  English  is  much  spoken 
here  and  the  people  wear  the  plain  European  dress,  familiar  to  us.  The  Danes 
themselves  are  cosmopolitan,  that  is,  not  bound  to  old  national  customs,  and  the  capital 
is  peopled  from  all  nations.  With  the  population  of  the  adjoining  suburbs  it  is  the  size 
of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  having  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people.  The 
great  city  pleasure  ground  lies  beyond  the  southern  boulevard,  opposite  the  University 
quarter.  At  the  Tivoli,  as  it  is  called,  all  kinds  of  evening  amusements  are  provided  in 
the  illuminated  gardens  and  woods — some  of  the  beeches  for  which  Denmark  is  so 
famous — and  the  tiny  lake.  All  classes  of  people  meet  here  on  an  equality  ;  they  ride  in 
the  "  rush-railway,"  whose  little  cars  sweep  down  curves  and  up  in  a  most  delightful  take- 
your-breath-away  fashion  ;  they  see  the  dramas,  or  the  dancing,  loiter  in  the  restaurants 
or  cafes,  or  stroll  through  the  pleasant  walks.  Another  promenade  is  along  the  high 
dam  or  mound  leading  northward  along  the  shores  of  the  Sound  and  commanding  a  view 
of  the  vessels  sailing  through  the  narrow  branch  of  the  sea  between  the  city  and 
Amager. 

The  second  city  of  Scandinavia  is  Stockholm,  the  capital  of  Sweden.  It 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  lovely  Lake  Malar,  the  last  of  a  chain  of  water-ways  made  up 
of  lakes  and  canals,  that  cross  the  peninsula.  Lake  Malar  is  dotted  all  over  with 
islands  of  every  form  and  size,  some  surmounted  with  castles  and  others  studded  with 
peasants'  houses  and  fishing  hamlets.  Stockholm  is  a  city  of  the  most  striking 
contrasts,  situated  on  seven  islands  or  holms,  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake  into  the  Baltic. 
It  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all  Northern  cities  and  bears  the  name  of  the  Northern  Venice 
more  appropriately  than  Amsterdam.  But  it  is  far  from  a  copy  of  the  famous  city  of 
the  south,  having  its  own  peculiar  beauty  ;  its  islands  are  made  by  natural  arms  of  the 
sea  and  its  surroundings  are  majestic  hills,  crags  and  wooded  landscapes.  The  most 
picturesque  of  the  islets  is  the  Sodermalm,  on  whose  steep  sides  the  houses,  connected 
more  by  steps  than  by  roads,  rise  in  terraced  rows  to  the  summit,  which  is  crowned  by 
the  church  of  St.  Catherine.  This  island  was  once  a  rugged  mountain,  but  is  now  a 
southern  suburb  ;  from  its  built-up  heights  there  is  still  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
water-streets,  the  life  and  northern  architecture  of  the  capital  ;  on  a  holm  near  by  is  the 
Deergarden,  a  great  pleasure  ground  that  is  full  of  attractions  and  of  people  winter  and 
summer.  Other  little  parks  and  delightful  promenades  are  scattered  throughout'  the 
city.  The  center  isle  of  the  group  is  occupied  by  a  huge  palace  built  in  the  middle  of 
the  last  century  and  "  the  old  church  of  Riddarholmen,  where  Gustavus  Adolphus,  the 


152  Cities  of  the  World. 

greatest  soldier  and  most  faultless  king  of  Sweden,  and  many  other  royal  persons  repose 

beneath    the   banner-hung   arches.     The  bridge   at   the  junction  of  the  lake  and  the 

Baltic  is  the  center  of  life,  and  below  them  is  a  little  pleasure  garden,"  where  hundreds 

of  people  are  constantly  eating  and  drinking  under  the  trees,  and  where  strains  of  music 

are  wafted  late  into  the  summer  night  ;  the  little  steam  gondolas,  filled  with  people,  dart 

and  hiss  through  the  waters  from  one  island  to  another,  for  bridges  are  few  in  the  city 

and    the    water-ways    innumerable,   and    the    little    boats   are    the    chief    means    of 

communication,  a  passage  only  costing  what  is  equal  to  one  penny.     The  streets  of  the 

older  quarters  of  the  town  are  narrow,  crooked  and  poorly  paved.     The   capital  was 

founded  in  about  the  thirteenth  century  and  called  Stockholm,   or  the  Stake  Island, 

because  the  islands  were  enlarged  by  piles  or  stakes.     The  newer  parts  are  made  up  of 

fine,  straight   streets   and   large  squares   built   up   with   stone   houses ;  the   suburban 

dwellings   are  mostly   of  wood.     The  king  and  his   court  reside  in  Stockholm  ;  the 

government  and  the  courts  meet  here  ;  it  is  the  center  of  Swedish  society  and  literary 

culture  and  has  a  great  many  institutions  both  for  education  and  doing  good.     It  is  the 

great  commercial  depot  for  Sweden  in  the  country's  products  of  iron,  deal  planks  and 

timber,   and   for  -the   manufactures   of   the  land,  in  which  cabinet  making  and  other 

branches  of  wood- working  take  the  lead.     Sweden  is  an  industrious  country  with  a 

wide-spread  interest  in  education.     The  kingdoms  of  Sweden  and  Norway  have  the 

same  monarch,  crowned  by  each  ;  the  same  representatives  abroad  and  a  common  mint. 

Otherwise  they  are  perfectly  distinct,  each  with  its  own  institutions  and  laws.     In  Sweden 

there  is  a  titled  nobility,  but  not  in  Norway,  although  the  large  landed  proprietors  are 

really  a  sort  of  aristocracy.     Norway,  o*n  the  whole,  is  a  nation  of  less  cultivation  than 

Sweden,  with  a  population  growing  too  fast    for  its    resources.      Still,    education  is 

compulsory  and  free  and  always  includes  several  branches  of  useful  knowledge  with  a 

large  amount  of  training  in  Bible-history,  Bible-reading,  and  psalm  singing.     The  capital 

of  the  country  and  its  largest   town   is  Christiana,    at  the    head  of  the   Kattegat. 

It  is  the  seat  of  government,  a  university  town  and  a  commercial  port  of  the  North  Sea, 

but  withal  can  not  compare  with  Copenhagen  or  Stockholm.     There  are  some  pretty 

places  about  it,  but  none  beautiful.     "  From  the  avenues  upon  the  ramparts  you  look 

down  over  the  broad  expanse  of  the  fiord,  or  strait,  and  see  the  low  blue  mountains  in 

the  distance.     Little  steamers   dart  backward  and  forward  and  convey  visitors  from 

one  place  to  another  among  the  surroundings.     The  town  of  Christiana  proper  was  laid 

out  by  Christian  IV.  in  1614  in  the  form  of  a  regular  parallelogram  of  a  thousand  paces 

in  length  and  breadth  ;  but  the  capital  now  includes  several  other  quarters  and  suburbs, 

having  altogether  a  population  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  people. 

The*  excellent  university  here  is  the  only  one  in   Norway  and  has  about  a  thousand 

students  in  its  various  departments.     The  city  has  good  schools   and  some  celebrated 

learned  societies.     The  manufactures  carried  on  here  are  mainly  in  oil,  cotton,  paper, 


154  Cities  of  the   World. 

soap  and  bricks,  with  a  number  of  distilleries  and  corn  mills.  There  is  quite  a  large 
export  trade  carried  on  with  the  ports  of  Denmark  and  England.  What  there  is 
lacking  of  scenery  in  the  dull  town  is  fully  made  up  in  the  beautiful  bay  with  its  steep 
and  rocky  shores  and  forests  of  Norwegian  pines.  The  brave  and  hardy  Scandinavians 
that  you  see  here  now  are  not  unworthy  descendants  of  the  heroic  race  of  Northmen. 
Being  somewhat  out  of  the  course  of  the  great  stream  of  national  intercourse,  they  keep 
many  of  their  ancient  characteristics  in  simple  living,  energy  and  national  pride.  "  Al- 
though in  Norway  and  Sweden  there  are  many  mines  and  mills,  most  of  the  people  gain 
their  living  either  out  of  the  soil  or  the  sea.  The  farmer  in  either  country  is  a  marvel 
of  industry  and  thrift  ;  he  would  live  upon  what  an  American  farmer  wastes,  and  live 
more  comfortably  than  most  of  our  farming  people  do.  The  amount  of  labor  done  at 
the  special  dairy-farms,  to  which  cattle  are  driven  in  Summer,  generally  by  girls,  would 
horrify  a  Western  maiden  ;  but  the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  girls  thrive  on  it,  enjoying 
rare  good  health,  and  the  happiness  that  it  brings."  But  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
people  follow  the  sea  for  a  living.  In  1880  more  than  a  thousand  Norwegian 
vessels  entered  the  port  of  New  York,  and  seven  times  as  many  were  busy  elsewhere. 
More  than  sixty  thousand  sailors  man  those  vessels,  and  yet  Norwegian  sailors  are  nu- 
merous in  the  merchant  navy  of  almost  every  other  country.  About  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  Norwegians  are  engaged  in  fisheries.  As  a  race  the  people  are  pro- 
foundly religious  and  also  intolerant  of  all  but  the  Protestant  faith,  although  the  State 
allows  freedom  of  worship.  Drunkenness  and  profanity  are  rare  everywhere  in  Scan- 
dinavia ;  there  seems  to  be  no  idle,  dangerous  class.  At  fairs  and  feasts  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  drinking,  but  it  is  only  for  a  short  time  and  the  fun  never  culminates  in  fighting. 
They  are  all  very  hospitable,  Mr.  Du  Chaillu  tells  us,  and  "  as  in  all  other  countries 
that  keep  primitive  habits,  hospitality  in  Scandinavia  means  eating  and  drinking.  The 
poorest  farmer  or  fisherman  always  has  something  to  offer  the  visitor,  and  if  the  guest 
show  a  lack  of  appetite  it  is  felt  to  be  a  slight."  One  time  to  avoid  giving  any  offense, 
Mr.  Du  Chaillu  ate  thirty  times  in  two  days,  and  drank  thirty-four  cups  of  coffee.  An 
old  farmer  will  fiddle  all  the  evening  while  his  family — children  and  servants  included — 
dance.  He  is  very  fond  of  visiting  ;  and  a  wedding  is  sufficient  excuse  for  a  three  days 
jollification.  Altogether,  with  the  extensive  preparations  and  the  festival  itself,  a 
Scandinavian  wedding  is  a  very  important  affair.  At  all  times  a  great  deal  of  care  is 
given  to  dress  and  to  the  beautifying  of  homes  ;  and  a  pleasant  part  of  it  is  that  the 
people  do  not  let  their  love  of  display  overcome  good  taste. 


THE  NETHERLANDS. 


ACROSS  the  waters  from  the  lower  part  of  the  North  Sea  coast  of  England,  lies  the 
low,  canal-cut  country  once  called  Holland;  now  the  UNITED  KINGDOM  OF  THE 
NETHERLANDS.  It  is  about  the  size  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  with  four  and  a  half  times 
as  many  people  living  in  it ;  and  made  up  of  many  large  towns  in  its  various  provinces. 
Most  of  the  country  in  the  western  part,  being  below  the  water  level,  has  been  walled  in 
by  dunes,  or  long  hills  of  sand  banked  up  by  wind  and  waves.  Where  these  fail  there 
are  strong  dykes  built  of  stones  brought  from  Norway,  timber,  turf  and  clay,  which  are 
carefully  watched  and  kept  in  order.  A  large  part  of  the  four  million  of  people  of  the 
Netherlands  live  in  towns,  of  which  Amsterdam,  the  capital,  is  first,  smaller  in  size  but 
with  about  the  same  population  as  Baltimore  ;  that  is  between  three  and  four  hundred 
thousand.  The  "  Venice  of  the  North,"  it  is  called,  but  very  inappropriately,  for  it 
lacks  the  color,  the  stateliness  and  every  thing  that  distinguishes  the  "  Bride  of  the 
Adriatic  "  from  all  other  island-built  cities  of  the  world. 

The  Zuider  Zee  is  an  arm  of  the  German  Ocean,  or  North  Sea,  about  as  large  as  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island  ;  and  near  its  southwestern  corner,  where  the  river  Y,  or  Ij,  is 
met  by  the  Amstel,  is  the  great,  low-lying,  half -moon  shaped  city,  the  town  of  Amstel's 
dyke,  or  "  Amstel  dam,"  as  it  is  often  called.  The  view  of  Amsterdam  from  the  harbor  is 
very  fine  ;  walled  in  from  the  sea  by  dykes  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other,  surrounded  by 
rich  grassy  meadows  ;  quaint  and  flat,  it  is  skirted  by  the  old  ramparts  leveled  into 
broad,  tree-lined  promenades,  and  studded  with  fantastic  gabled  roofs,  chimneys, 
wind-mills,  turrets,  church-towers  and  spires  of  all  shapes  and  sizes.  Canals  and 
branches  of  the  Zuider  Zee,  running  in  every  direction,  divide  the  city  into  about  ninety 
islands,  which  are  connected  by  nearly  three  hundred  bridges,  made  of  stone,  iron,  or  wood, 
and  high  enough  for  vessels  to  pass  under.  The  town  is  built  over  a  peat  bog,  upon  piles 
driven  through  forty  or  fifty  feet  of  loose  sand  and  mud  into  firm,  solid,  clay  below. 
Vessels  have  to  unload  part  of  their  cargo  outside  in  the  Zuider  Zee,  for  it  is  neither  safe 
nor  easy  to  cross  the  shallows  and  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Y. 

At  one  of  the  entrances  of  the  city  stands  the  "Crier's  Tower,"  which  was  built  in 
1482,  and  called  the  Schreyerstoren,  because  it  was  always  a  scene  of  parting  between 
friends  and  sailors  leaving  for  all  parts  of  the  globe. 

Near  where  the  river  Amstel  enters  the  city  is  a  large  exhibition  building,  which  has 
also  a  fine  collection  of  paintings  and  a  beautiful  garden.  This  "  Paleis  voor  Volksvlyt," 


156  Cities  of  the    World. 

as  the  Dutch  call  it,  is  nearly  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  three  hundred  feet 
broad,  while  its  great  dome  towers  upward  two  hundred  feet.  The  Amstel  flows 
almost  through  the  center  of  the  city,  dividing  the  modern  part  on  the  west  from 
the  old  town  on  its  eastern  banks.  The  old  town  was  a  fishing  village  six  hundred 
years  ago,  and  is  made  up  of  narrow  and  irregular  streets.  In  the  center  reaching  to 
the  moat  on  the  outskirts,  is  the  chief  park  of  Amsterdam, — the  Plantation, — where 
there  are  many  fine  walks,  the  botanic  and  the  zoological  gardens.  The  only  other 
recreation  ground  of  Amsterdam  is  Vondel's  Park,  on  the  southern  outskirts.  In  the 
modern  part  of  the  old  Dutch  capital  the  streets  and  squares  are  handsome  and 
spacious.  Some  of  the  principal  canals  run  in  semi-circles,  one  within  another,  and  are 
bordered  with  tree-lined  avenues  of  handsome  houses,  their  picturesque  gables  toward 
the  street.  It  is  said  that  there  is  not  a  straight  building  in  the  whole  place  ;  "  they  lean 
forward  and  lean  backward  ;  they  lean  to  the  right  and  lean  to  the  left  ;  "  all  of  which 
is  caused  by  the  sinking  of  the  piles  on  which  they  are  built.  On  the  great  public 
square  called  the  Dam,  near  the  center  of  the  city,  is  the  Palace.  This  royal 
residence  is  almost  square,  adorned  with  handsome  stone  carving  and  resting 
on  many  thousand  piles.  It  is  nearly  three  hundred  feet  long  with  a  tur- 
reted  cupola  rising  sixty-six  feet  above  the  main  building,  which  is  one  hundred  and  six- 
teen feet  high.  The  most  beautiful  room  in  the  Palace  is  a  great  hall,  nearly  as  long  as 
the  building,  more  than  fifty  feet  broad  and  ninety  high, — lined  entirely  with  white 
Italian  marble.  Across  the  Dam  is  the  Exchange  or  Beurs,  an  immense  building,  which 
is  the  front  of  a  fine  square,  or  quadrangle  as  architects  say,  in  handsome  Ionian  style. 
The  "  Niewe  Kerk,"  near  the  Palace,  is  where  the  Dutch  kings  are  crowned.  It  was 
built  in  1408,  and  is  a  very  fine  church,  containing  many  monuments  to  celebrated 
Dutchmen,  wonderful  work  in  a  carved  pulpit,  and  bronze  castings.  The  "  Oude  Kerk," 
or  Old  Church,  which  was  built  in  the  fourteenth  century,  has  also  some  great  monuments, 
beautiful  stained  glass  windows  and  a  fine  organ.  There  are  other  churches  of  many 
religions  in  Amsterdam  ;  the  synagogue  of  the  Shepardin  Jews  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
world,  but  excepting  the  Moses  and  Aaron  Church,  and  the  new  Lutheran  meeting 
house,  with  its  cupola  of  green  copper,  few  are  either  handsome  or  interesting.  The 
city  has  beside  many  galleries  of  pictures  by  the  old  Dutch  masters,  art  schools, 
museums,  and  a  great  number  of  noble  institutions  for  giving  help  or  care  to  people  that 
are  sick  and  afflicted.  The  Society  for  the  Public  Welfare  has  branches  in  nearly  every 
town  and  village  in  Holland. 

Amsterdam  has  a  large  share  in  almost  all  the  industries  of  the  Netherlands  :  she 
sends  out  by  canal  and  railway  in  greatest  quantities,  cheese  and  butter,  madder  for 
medicine,  dyes  and  paints,  clover  and  rape,  linseed  oil  and  gin  ;  and  makes  soap,  oil, 
glass,  iron,  dyes  and  chemicals,  beside  refining  a  vast  amount  of  sugar,  and  employing 
many  people  in  brewing,  tanning  leather,  founding  type  and  making  tobacco  and  snuff  ; 


158  Cities  of  the   World. 

while  there  is  more  diamond  cutting  done  here  than  in  any  place  in  the  world.  Cen- 
turies ago  Amsterdam  was  the  center  of  the  world's  banking  business,  and  one  of  its 
greatest  commercial  ports.  With  the  exception  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  it  now  ranks 
as  the  richest  city  for  its  size  in  the  world  ;  and  its  entire  wealth  has  been  earned  by  the 
greatest  toil  and  perseverance  in  the  face  of  every  difficulty.  Among  the  powerful 
banking  firms  of  the  world  Hope  &  Co.  stand  next  to  the  Rothschilds.  Gem  cutting  has 
long  been  a  specialty  of  the  city  ;  the  diamond  mills  as  they  are  called  are  owned  by  the 
Jews,  where  there  are  nearly  ten  thousand  Hebrews  employed. 

The  city  has  had  to  undergo  many  hard  trials  from  jealous  nations  and  home  troubles 
which  have  altered  its  condition  very  much.  But  the  people  are  good,  industrious  and 
enterprising  ;  they  have  recovered  a  great  deal  by  building  railroads,  a  great  ship  canal 
across  North  Holland  from  Mars  Diep,  which,  in  addition  to  the  new  canal  being  opened 
to  the  North  Sea,  will  probably  bring  back  to  Amsterdam  much  of  its  lost  importance  in 
trade  and  commerce.  Its  quays  are  once  more  being  thronged,  its  streets  are  crowded, 
its  shops  full  of  men  and  women  ;  and  its  warehouses  are  active  and  busy.  No  man, 
woman  or  child  seems  to  be  idle,  every  body  seems  to  live  up  to  the  unspoken  creed  of 
industry,  perseverance  and  prosperity,  although  a  great  deal  of  time  might  be  better 
used  by  employing  modern  labor-saving  and  time-saving  inventions. 

Rotterdam,  the  second  city  of  the  Netherlands,  is  a  little  more  than  half  as  large  as 
Amsterdam.  Standing  where  the  little  Rotte  river  meets  the  Maas,  about  twenty  miles 
from  its  mouth,  the  city  is  shaped  like  a  triangle,  apex  pointing  toward  the  north,  and 
base  stretching  along  the  Maas  in  a  fine  set  of  quays  called  the  Boompjes  ;  these  are 
bordered  with  elms  planted  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago  and  faced  by  a  fine  row 
of  houses. 

Rotterdam  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  Hoog  Street,  on  a  dyke  built  to  keep  out  the 
water  when  it  rises.  The  section  on  the  north  side  is  Binnenstad  ;  and  on  the  south, 
extending  to  the  Maas,  it  is  Buitenstad.  This  lower  part  of  town  is  cut  into  many  is- 
lands by  "  havens,"  or  broad  canals,  whose  docks  are  faced  on  both  sides  by  lofty  houses 
shaded  by  rows  of  beautiful  trees.  There  are  seven  of  the  largest  canals,  which  are  so 
deep  that  immense  ships  can  go  their  full  length  ;  two  run  from  the  Maas,  up  into  the 
city,  while  five  are  parallel  with  the  river. 

Beside  the  great  ocean  traffic  carried  on  by  Rotterdam  with  other  countries,  it  is  an 
important  port  for  vessels  bound  to  and  from  the  Rhine  provinces  of  Prussia,  not  only 
for  its  own  trade,  but  as  a  stopping  place  for  foreign  vessels,  as  the  Maas  is  the  great 
•highway  from  the  open  sea  to  the  Rhine  and  the  interior  of  Europe. 

Beside  all  this  shipping  business,  which  includes  the  country  products,  many  manu- 
factured articles,  live  stock,  great  ship-yards  and  steamboat  factories,  Rotterdam  makes 
articles  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  gin  and  liquors  distilled  here  are  shipped  in  great 
quantities  by  water  or  rail  to  all  countries  of  the  globe.  The  hall  of  the  Rotterdam  Ex- 


160  Cities  of  the   World. 

change  is,  at  three  o'clock,  crowded  with  merchants  and  visitors  of  many  nations.  Gei 
mans,  Flemings,  French,  Italians,  Spaniards,  Armenians,  Greeks,  Poles,  Russians,  Eng 
lish  and  Americans;  and  all  of  these,  speaking  at  times  in  their  native  tongue,  get  greatl 
excited  over  advancing  or  declining  prices.  In  all  this  excitement  you  would  almos 
forget  that  you  were  in  the  land  of  the  quiet,  unruffled  Dutchman,  who  would  scarcel 
be  startled  enough  to  look  around  if  a  pistol  were  shot  off  directly  behind  him.  Nearl 
all  the  "  nice  "  houses  have  little  mirrors  at  each  side  of  the  windows,  that  reflect  i: 
opposite  directions  so  that,  without  stopping  their  work — for  it  is  almost  a  sin  to  be  idl 
in  Holland — the  people  in  the  house  can  see  all  that  is  passing  outside  without  bein 
seen  themselves. 

The  buildings  of  Rotterdam  seem  not  to  have  been  put  up  to  be  handsome  ani 
majestic,  but  serviceable  ;  a  few,  however,  are  both.  There  are  churches,  schools  c 
all  kinds,  and  institutes  for  the  study  of  art,  science,  architecture,  music,  medicine,  an 
many  other  things.  There  are  some  galleries,  too  ;  but  the  great  pictures  and  works  c 
art — once  the  pride  of  the  town — were  burned  about  twenty  years  ago,  and  can  never  b 
replaced.  The  hospital  in  the  Coolsingel  is  a  very  fine  and  perfectly  arranged  building 
The  great  St.  Lawrence  Church,  with  its  high  towers  and  Gothic  pillars,  raised  in  th 
fifteenth  century,  has  a  splendid  organ  and  several  beautiful  marble  monuments  in  hone 
of  distinguished  men.  On  the  open  market-place  there  stands  a  bronze  statue  c 
Erasmus,  and  on  the  street  that  leads  to  the  Breede  Kerk  the  famous  scholar's  birtt 
place  is  still  pointed  out.  Rotterdam  is  now  growing  verj'  fast.  It  is  about  the  size  c 
Riga  in  Russia,  Hull  in  England,  or  Cleveland,  Ohio  ;  and  has  about  a  hundred  an 
seventy-five  thousand  people  living"  in  it — more  than  twice  as  many  as  there  were  fift 
years  ago. 

Although  Amsterdam  is  the  capital  of  the  Netherlands,  the  Dutch  Parliament  meei 
at  The  Hague,  and  here  also  the  king,  his  family,  and  the  principal  officers  of  the  Stal 
live  ;  for  this  country  has  much  the  same  form  of  government  as  Great  Britain.  It  is  rule 
by  a  king  or  queen,  according  to  the  Constitution,  and  limited  by  a  Parliament.  The  Hagu 
is  nearer  the  sea-coast  than  the  other  cities,  and  connected  by  railway  with  Amsterdai 
in  the  north-east  and  Rotterdam  in  the  south-east.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  citi( 
in  Europe  ;  canals  and  shady  avenues  of  linden-trees  run  in  every  direction,  while  besic 
stately  houses,  fine  libraries,  museums  and  churches  there  are  grand  parks  an 
many  palaces.  One  of  these,  the  Mauritz  Huis,  has  a  splendid  collection  < 
pictures,  including  some  of  the  most  precious  of  the  works  of  the  old  Dutc 
masters,  and  other  interesting  collections  of  various  kinds.  The  Hague  h; 
twenty  churches.  The  finest  of  all  is  the  Great  Church,  built  almost  s 
hundred  years  ago.  In  its  lofty  six  sided  tower  there  is  a  chime  of  thirty-eigl 
bells.  Connected  with  the  thrilling  history  of  Holland  and  the  Hague  is  the  Gevangei 
poort,  or  prison  gate  house,  which  has  at  different  times  confined  many  great  men  ;  an 


Scheven  ingen.  1 6 1 

the  irregular  drawbridge-guarded  and  moat-inclosed  Binnenhof  and  the  Buitenhof,  a 
mass  of  public  buildings,  raised  at  different  times  and  built  by  many  different  hands.  The 
Hague  is  one  of  the  best  built  and  least  Dutch  towns  in  Holland.  The  French  language 
is  much  spoken,  and  Parisian  manners  and  customs,  shops  and  society  are  very  marked. 
Many  of  the  streets  are  broad,  brick-paved  and  bordered  with  trees.  A  number  of 
tame  storks  are  kept  in  a  small  house  in  the  Fish  Market  and  strut  about  there  with  a 
grand  air  of  importance.  The  arms  of  the  Hague  are  represented  by  a  stork,  and 
throughout  the  kingdom  the  bird  is  almost  sacred  ;  it  is  never  disturbed  or  injured  ;  to 
kill  one  is  little  less  than  a  crime.  Great  pains  are  taken  to  induce  them  to  build  their 
nests  in  the  roof  of  farm  houses  and  on  the  edge  of  a  gable  or  near  the  chimney  of  town 
dwellings.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  town  is  a  noble  forest,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  what 
the  Dutch  call  Y  Huis  in  Y  Bosch,  the  House  in  the  Wood.  This  is  a  royal  palace,  where 
some  beautiful  tapestry  may  be  seen  ;  and  many  fresco  works  of  the  Antwerp  painter,  Peter 
Paul  Rubens,  who,  with  some  of  his  greatest  artist  pupils,  painted  the  ceiling  and  walls  of 
several  rooms  in  the  House.  The  Hague  is  a  fashionable  town,  supported  chiefly  by 
the  court  and  nobility.  It  is  also  a  busy  manufacturing  place,  in  all  the  trades  belonging 
to  book  making,  carriage  building,  cabinet  work,  rope  spinning  and  dressing  leather. 
Scheveningen,  the  old  port  and  fishing  village  on  the  North  Sea,  a  favorite  bathing 
place,  is  reached  from  the  Hague  by  a  broad  causeway,  bordered  with  rows  of  trees. 
The  suburbs  of  the  town  have  many  beautiful  country  seats.  There  is  nothing  a  Dutch- 
man sets  more  value  on  than  a  country  seat,  which  is  generally  a  brightly  painted 
wooden  house — called  a  summer  house  or  garden  house — with  carefully  laid  out  gardens 
and  a  fish  pond.  Ryswick,  where  the  treaty  of  peace  was  made  in  1697,  is  not  far  off, 
and  on  the  way  to  Rotterdam  is  the  famous  town  of  Delft,  where  the  first  European 
crockery  table  ware  was  made. 

The  oldest  city  of  the  Netherlands  is  Utrecht,  which  was  built  by  the  Romans  and 
is  now  about  the  size  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  with  over  seventy  thousand  people. 
It  lies  about  twenty-five  miles  south-east  of  Amsterdam,  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  and 
cultivated  country,  of  woods,  hills,  meadows  and  orchards,  through  which  railways  run 
in  many  directions  from  the  city,  while  the  Old  Rhine  and  River  Vecht  connect  it  with 
other  cities  and  provinces  of  the  continent.  Thus  favorably  situated  for  trade,  Utrecht 
plays  an  important  part  in  the  Dutch  commerce,  especially  with  grain,  cattle,  and  its 
manufactures,  which  are  principally  woolens,  plush  called  "  Utrecht  velvet,"  carpets, 
furniture,  baskets,  tin,  copper  and  silver  work,  sawing  wood,  rope-making,  iron  founding 
and  book  printing  ;  besides  making  salt,  and  large  quantities  of  tobacco  and  cigars, 
which  last  are  the  leading  industries  of  the  place. 

Here,  also,  good  people  have  built  homes  and  hospitals  for  those  who  are  not  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  The  handsome  houses  of  many  noble  Dutch  families  stand  in 
Utrecht,  and  there  are  besides,  a  high  military  court,  the  Mint  and  other  important 


1 62  Cities  of  the   World. 

national  institutions.  The  "  Pope's  House,"  built  by  Adrian  VI.,  who  was  born  ii 
Utrecht  in  1459,  is  the  building  used  for  government  offices.  The  "  Domkerk  "  is  a  fim 
old  cathedral,  consecrated  to  St.  Martin  about  the  year  720.  The  body  of  the  building 
was  destroyed  by  a  hurricane  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and  is  now  a  ruin 
leaving  the  great  tower,  which  is  over  three  hundred  feet  high,  standing  alone. 

Utrecht  is  famous  in  history  as  the  place  where  the  union  of  the  northern  province: 
called  "the  Netherlands"  was  formed  in  1579;  and  in  this  place  the  great  peace 
treaty  of  1713  was  signed  by  ambassadors  from  nearly  every  country  of  Europe.  It  ha; 
always  been  noted  for  education.  The  grand  old  University  was  founded  here  in  1636 
and  there  are  also  many  fine  common  schools,  special  academies  and  societies  for  train 
ing  teachers,  military  surgeons,  musicians  and  students  in  a  great  many  branches  ol 
learning,  especially  science.  The  ancient  walls  which  used  to  surround  the  city  hav< 
been  leveled  and  made  into  beautiful  tree-planted  walks  and  carriage  ways. 

The  most  famous  educational  town  of  Holland  is  Leyden,  of  a  little  more  than  forty- 
two  thousand  people,  and  about  the  size  of  Wilmington,  Delaware. 

It  is  low  and  flat,  with  many  canals,  broad  streets,  and  handsome  squares.  Studded 
with  windmills  it  stands  amid  beautiful  meadows  on  the  bank  of  the  Old  Rhine. 

William  of  Orange  founded  the  University,  whither  students  from  all  parts  of  Eu- 
rope have  come  for  more  than  three  hundred  years,  calling  it  the  "  Athens  of  the  West." 
Here  the  great  chemist,  Cuneus,  discovered  how  to  gather  electricity  in  what  is  called 
the  Leyden  jar.  The  Pilgrims  from  England  lived  in  this  old  town  for  ten  years  before 
they  came  to  America. 

Haarlem,  directly  west  of  Amsterdam,  three  miles  from  the  sea,  is  a  town  noted  foi 
cleanliness,  even  in  the  clean  country  of  Holland.  It  is  about  the  size  of  Utica,  New 
York,  the  home  of  more  than  forty-three  thousand  people.  In  the  nursery  gardens  on 
the  outskirts,  large  quantities  of  tulip  and  hyacinth  bulbs  are  raised,  which  by  railway 
and  canal  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  Europe,  along  with  a  great  deal  of  woven  goods 
made  in  the  town.  St.  Bavo's  Kerk,  built  in  the  fifteenth  century,  is  the  finest  of  Haar- 
lem's thirteen  churches,  and  the  largest  in  the  Netherlands.  It  has  a  lofty  tower,  and 
one  of  the  most  immense  organs  in  the  world.  From  the  roof  of  this  cathedral  hang 
quaint  little  ships,  under  full  sail,  models  of  old  Dutch  galleons,  placed  there  as  offer- 
ings by  sailors  starting  on  long  voyages.  In  the  square  before  the  church  is  a  marble 
statue  of  Laurenz  Coster,  the  inventor  of  printing,  the  Dutch  say.  The  Museum  has  a 
splendid  collection  of  paintings,  visited  by  the  greatest  artists  in  the  world  ;  and  in  the 
Town  Hall,  long  ago  the  residence  of  the  Counts  of  Holland,  are  some  fine  carvings. 
These,  with  the  palace  of  the  States-General  and  many  of  the  educational  and  charitable 
buildings,  are  well  worth  seeing.  The  beautiful  pleasure-grounds  near  the  city  are 
known  as  the  Woods  of  Haarlem.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the  overflowing  of  the  sea 
made  a  great  lake  fourteen  miles  long  and  ten  broad,  between  this  town  and  Amster- 


164  Cities  of  the   World. 

dam.  After  twelve  years'  labor  with  steam  pumps,  the  Dutch  succeeded  in  draining 
this  off,  and  in  1850  the  work  was  done,  and  the  bottom  of  Haarlem  Lake  is  now  a 
country  of  rich  farms  and  the  home  of  about  ten  thousand  people. 

Haarlem  is  noted  in  history  for  its  heroic  defense  against  the  Spaniards  in  the  seven- 
months  siege  of  1572,  when  even  the  women  formed  a  company  of  three  hundred  sol- 
diers. But  it  was  all  in  vain.  The  town  had  to  surrender  after  the  last  mouthful  of 
food  was  gone,  and  the  faithless  Spaniards  broke  their  promise  and  put  the  people  to 
death. 

In  Holland,  winter  is  perhaps  the  most  welcome  of  all  seasons.  Directly  the  ice 
bears  there  is  an  army  of  skaters  and  sledgers  appears  ;  visits  are  made  and  distances 
traveled  over  canal  and  river,  which  can  not  be  done  in  Summer ;  few  American  boys 
and  girls  know  any  thing  of  such  ice  sports  and  winter  fun  as  are  then  abroad  ;  the 
Dutch  do  not  go  round  and  round  a  lake,  or  up  and  down  certain  stretches  of  a  stream, 
but  make  up  parties  and  pay  visits  to  some  neighboring  towns  or  villages.  The  bracing 
air  of  a  bright  Winter  morning  rosies  the  faces  of  many  a  gay  little  Dutch  company  out 
for  the  day.  After  a  severe  frost  some  of  the  rivers  or  large  canals  flowing  through  the 
cities,  are  a  perfect  show,  like  a  great  fancy  fair,  with  thousands  of  skaters  in  their  Dutch 
costumes,  gliding  in  and  out,  among  sledges,  ice-boats,  stalls  and  booths.  When  all  the 
water-ways  about  a  city  are  frozen  the  trek-schuit — or  drag-boat — traffic  gives  way  to 
sledges,  large  -and  small.  "  Near  dwelling  houses  are  seen  little  box-sledges  for  the  chil- 
dren. These  are  precisely  the  same  as  the  seventeenth  century  contrivances  ;  the  child 
sits  with  just  room  for  its  feet,  and,  with  stick  in  each  hand,  pushes  astern  and  propels 
itself  ahead.  Some  of  the  sledges  for  grown  up  folks  are  of  many  different  shapes,  some 
of  them  are  gorgeously  fitted  up  with  most  picturesque  gear,  harness  and  trappings. 
They  are  generally  of  the  swan-like  shape,  the  '  sleighers  '  sitting  in  the  body,  the  driver 
perched  at  the  back,  as  on  the  tail,  the  sweeping-irons  following  the  curve  of  the  swan's 
neck;  over  these  run  the  reins."  One  horse  is  all  that  is  usually  driven  before  a  sledge  ; 
but  a  particularly  sumptuous  equipage,  requiring  more  would  have  them  in  tandem. 


BELGIUM.      • 

THE  country  of  the  Belgians  is  almost  the  size  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  and,  be- 
tween Holland  and  France,  occupies  a  gradual  slope  from  the  hilly  districts  of  north- 
ern Germany  to  the  level  shore  of  the  North  Sea.  It  is  free  and  independent,  surrounded 
by  some  unloving  and  mighty  neighbors.  The  nation  is  made  up  of  both  Keltic  and 
Teutonic  people  ;  more  than  half  speak  the  Flemish  tongue,  but  the  language  of  the 
Court  and  nearly  all  the  people  of  the  high  class  is  French.  According  to  the  size  of  the 


country  there  are  more  people  in  Belgium  than  any  where  in  the  world,  excepting  the 
island  of  Malta. 

Brussels,  the  capital,  stands  not  far  from  the  center  of  the  Belgian  territory,  in 
the  midst  of  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country  ;  it  is  picturesquely  built  on  the  top  and 
sides  of  a  hill,  which  slopes  down  to  the  Senne,  at  about  fifty  miles  from  the  sea.  Around 
the  original  town  there  are  extensive  new  districts  ;  but  the  old  city  is  the  most  import- 
ant. It  is  pentagon-shape,  with  a  labyrinth  of  short,  straight  or  curved  streets,  cut 
through  here  and  there  by  a  long  avenue  or  irregular  square,  and  bounded  by  boulevards 


1 66  Cities  of  the   World. 

which  occupy  the  site  of  the  old  fortifications.  On  fine  summer  evenings  the  northern 
and  eastern  sections  of  the  boulevards  are  thronged  with  carriages,  riders,  and  walkers, 
who  make  a  gay  and  animated  stream,  which  under  the  grand  old  trees  on. the  south-east, 
usually  flows  into  the  Avenue  Louise  on  its  way  to  the  Bois  de  la  Cambre.  This  is  a 
beautiful  park  which  is  the  Bois  de  Bologne  of  "  Little  Paris,"  as  Brussels  is  often  called. 
The  Cambre  is  one-fifth  the  size  of  Bologne,  as  Brussels  has  a  little  more  than  one-fifth 
as  many  people  as  Paris  ;  but  beyond  lies  the  Forest  of  Soigne,  which  is  much  grander 
and  more  extensive  than  any  suburban  wood  of  the  French  capital,  even  Fontainebleau. 
In  many  respects  Brussels  suffers  by  comparison  with  .other  great  cities  ;  the  Senne  is  a 
wretched  little  stream  ;  but  this  is  now  arched  over,  and  flows  unseen  beneath  a  long 
line  of  boulevards  above  it,  running  the  longest  way  through  almost  the  center  of  the 
inner  city.  The  main  part  of  the  city  is  within  the  five-sided  figure  anciently  described 
by  the  ramparts  ;  beyond  there  are  residences,  broad  and  regular  streets  with  many  tree- 
planted  squares,  and  notable  buildings  ;  but  the  center  of  life  is  within  the  lines.  The 
pentagon  is  made  up  of  two  parts',  each  with  characteristics  of  its  own.  The  New  Town, 
or  upper  part,  occupying  the  south-east  side,  is  dry,  healthy,  and  contains  straighter  and 
broader  streets  than  the  Old  Town,  with  the  great  boulevards  and  a  number  of  sump- 
tuous houses  and  private  offices,  foreign  ministries,  and  extensive  hotels.  There  are 
innumerable  fountains,  some  of  which  are  handsomely  ornamented  with  sculptures  in 
stone  and  bronze.  The  streets  are  macadamized  ;  but  the  most  of  them  are  causewayed  ; 
with  sidewalks  or  trottoirs — the  language  of  Brussels  is  French — either  flagged  or 
paved  with  flint-stones.  Some  of  the  streets  are  remarkably  handsome,  with  shops 
and  cafes  much  like  those  of  Paris.  4Many  of  the  squares  are  used  as  market-places. 
Adjoining  the  boulevard  that  separates  the  New  Town  from  the  aristocratic  eastern 
suburb  called  the  Quarter  Leopold,  is  the  Public  Park.  This  fashionable  summer  resort 
is  beautifully  laid  out  with  walks,  along  which  you  come  upon  groups  of  sculpture  every 
little  way,  beneath  the  shady  trees  on  the  soft  turf  that  is  kept  fresh  and  green.  At 
the  northern  end  almost  the  entire  width  of  the  Park  is  overlooked  by  the  National 
Palace,  where  the  Belgian  Senate  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  hold  their  sittings  ;  at 
the  end  stands  the  Palace  of  the  King,  or  Palais  Royal,  a  handsome  group  of  buildings 
with  beautiful  apartments  and  a  number  of  ancient  and  modern  pictures.  The  Rue 
Royale  bounds  the  Park  on  the  west,  running  along  the  margin  of  the  height  upon  which 
the  upper  town  stands.  The  traffic  in  this  or  any  of  the  adjacent  streets  is  not  important, 
although  there  have  been  some  attractive  new  shops  opened  here  lately.  The  row  of  stately 
houses  facing  the  Park  is  often  broken  by  small  terraces,  over  which  you  get  glimpses  of  the 
lower  town.  But  a  better  view  is  to  be  had  from  the  beautiful  Gothic  cathedral  of  St. 
Gudule  and  St.  Michel,  a  little  beyond.  This  is  one  of  the  most  imposing  buildings  in 
the  capital ;  being  surrounded  by  a  boulevard  and  large  open  place,  its  rich  walls, 
towers  and  chapels  are  open  to  the  view.  The  paintings,  stained  glass,  and  wood 


Brussels. 


167 


carvings  are  very  fine.  The  tower  commands  a  beautiful  view  of  the  town  as  it  descends 
rather  abruptly  toward  the  boulevards  over  the  river.  The  Old  Town  is  the  most 
ancient  and  the  most  interesting  quarter  of  Brussels  ;  the  canals  are  many  ;  the  streets 
are  mostly  narrow  and  somber,  overhung  with  medieval  houses  that  tell  of  ancient  char- 
acteristics and  early  glory  ;  the  whole  is  now  devoted  to  ihdustry  and  commerce  ;  the 
latter  is  not  very  large,  but 
the  manufactures  of  lace, 
furniture,  bronzes,  carriages, 
and  leather  articles  are  very 
important.  The  principal 
streets  and  the  great  streams 
of  people  always  tend  to- 
ward a  common  center  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  old 
town.  It  is  the  Grande 
Place,  or  market  place,  the 
liveliest  and  most  crowded 
place  in  all  the  city  ;  around 
it  are  grand  old  buildings 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
over  it  hover  associations  of 
the  most  important  events 
in  Brussels  history. 

The  florid,  antique  houses 
date  from  the  Spanish  pos- 
session ;  and  the  majestic 
Hotel  de  Ville,  "  with  daring 
irregularity  and  inexhaustible 
combination  of  shapes  and 
colors,"  is  one  of  the  noblest 
and  most  beautiful  buildings 
to  be  found  in  the  kingdom. 
The  ornamented  and  irregu-  HOME  WORK,  BELGIUM. 

lar  quadrangle,  with  ancient  court  inclosed,  and  graceful  tower,  three  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  high,  was  built  in  the  first  half  of  1400  ;  the  elaborate  niches 
are  filled  with  statuettes,  and  on  the  open  spire  a  gilded  figure  of  the  Archangel  Michael 
tells  all  the  town  which  way  the  wind  blows.  The  decorations  of  the  interior  are  so  beau- 
tiful and  so  full  of  historical  interest  that  the  old  Town  Hall  is  one  of  the  chief  museums 
in  the  city.  There  are  other  exhibitions  also  that  attract  many  tourists  to  Brussels.  The 


1 68  Cities  of  the   World. 

Royal  Belgian  Museum  is  some  distance  to  the  south-west  of  the  cathedral,  and  contains 
a  valuable  gallery  of  paintings,  which  has  no  equal  in  the  country  ;  adjoining  are  the 
Royal  Library  and  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  and  near  by  several  other  sumptuous  palaces 
extending  to  the  Palais  Royal ;  many  stand  on  the  Rue  de  Regence,  which  leads  to  the 
pride  of  the  city,  the  great  and  grand  Palace  of  Justice,  which  was  opened  in  1883,  when  the 
jubilee  over  Belgium  as  a  separate  kingdom  was  held.  It  is  the  largest  architectural  work 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  being  considerably  larger  on  the  ground  than  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome  ;  it  cost  ten  millions  of  dollars.  The  Royal  Palace  of  Justice  is  near  the  Royal 
Museum.  At  the  point  of  the  pentagon,  the  old  Porte  de  Hall  marks  the  extremity  of 
the  inner  town.  This  ancient-looking  prison-house  was  built  in  1381  ;  "  it  was  the  Bas- 
tile  of  Alva  during  the  Belgian  Reign  of  Terror  ;  "  but  its  vaulted  chambers  and  project- 
ing tower  are  now  peacefully  employed  as  a  museum  of  weapons  and  antiquities. 

The  stretch  of  country  called  Flanders  occupies  nearly  the  whole  of  Belgium  between 
Brussels  and  the  coast  ;  it  is  like  one  vast  garden  of  naturally  rich  and  fertile  soil  that  has 
been  under  wise  and  careful  tillage  for  centuries.  There  are  so  many  people  that  the  land 
has  become  cut  up  into  many  small  portions,which, limited  as  they  are,  support  an  extremely 
prosperous  race  of  small  peasant  farmers  and  villagers,  the  villages  often  numbering  as 
many  as  eight  thousand  souls,  who  are  busily  engaged  in  almost  every  handicraft.  ;%  The 
rich  and  picturesque  dress  of  the  people  of  Flanders  is  of  medieval  fashion  ;  the  women, 
wearing  long  dark-hooded  mantles,  look  something  like  nuns,  except  that  the  attire  is 
more  comfortable  and  comely,  and  is  usually  made  still  more  pleasing  to  see  by  valuable 
ear-rings  and  brooches  set  with  genuine  brilliants,  old  family  heirlooms  that  tell  the  story 
of  long  generations  of  uninterrupted  prosperity."  The  principal  outlet  for  products  of 
Flanders  and  all  other  parts  of  Belgium,  as  well  as  some  of  Germany,  is  Antwerp.  This 
is  a  great  and  a  growing  city  now  ;  but  the  height  of  its  power  and  glory  was  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  especially  after  Columbus's  discovery  of  America,  and  the  finding  of  a  pas- 
sage through  Europe  to  India.  The  centuries  between  then  and  now  brought  great 
changes  to  the  great  city  ;  but  in  these  latter  days  it  has  once  more,  and  this  time  peace- 
fully, advanced  to  prosperity.  To-day  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  European  seaports,  with  a 
population  of  two  hundred  thousand,  and  a  commerce  up  and  down  the  river  Escheldt 
that  has  increased  faster  since  1837  than  that  of  any  other  place  in  Europe.  It  is  now 
said  to  be  almost  equal  to  Hamburg  and  Marseilles.  The  "  lazy  Schelde  "  is  a  third  of  a 
mile  broad  at  the  city  and  very  deep  ;  on  its  quiet  surface  there  are  always  many  vessels 
tugging  at  anchor  or  lining  the  docks,  while  hundreds,  even  thousands  of  workmen  are 
busily  loading  and  unloading  many  kinds  of  merchandise.  There  are  steamers  large  and 
small,  and  sailing  vessels  of  all  descriptions  here — ships,  barks,  and  schooners,  of 
American  and  English  rig,  or  the  heavier  Dutch  craft  ;  vessels  from  further  north,  riding 
the  waves  beside  the  lateen-sail  boats  of  the  south  and  east,  all  mingled  in  a  fantastic 
group,  flying  the  colors  of  many  nations.  The  country  should  ever  be  indebted  to 


TOWN    HALL,    BRUSSELS.. 


1 70  Cities  of  the    World. 

Napoleon  for  the  acres  of  majestic  ports  and  miles  of  noble  dpcks  which  make  up  and 
line  this  harbor  ;  and  among  all  the  ports  to  which  the  great  transatlantic  liners  enter, 
they  rarely,  if  ever,  rest  by  finer  or  busier  quays  than  those  of  Antwerp.  On  one  of  these 
quays  stands  the  sculptured  Gate  of  the  Escaut  (another  name  for  the  Schelde), 
which  was  designed  by  Peter  Paul  Rubens.  The  docks  lie  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
town,  and  are  quite  distinct  from  the  quays.  Their  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  are 
usually  filled  with  large  steamers  and  merchantmen,  receiving  or  discharging  cargoes  by 
the  means  of  gigantic  and  noiseless  hydraulic  cranes,  which  are  worked  by  underground 
water  power.  Immense  bales  and  boxes  of  goods  are  carried  by  the  cranes  directly  from 
the  vessels  to  the  railway  trucks,  of  which  about  twenty-five  hundred  leave  Antwerp 
every  day  for  different  parts  of  Europe.  Around  the  docks  stand  large  warehouses,  with 
powerful  steam  elevators  for  raising  merchandise  to  the  lofty  stores.  The  largest  of  these 
buildings  is  the  Entrepot  Royal ;  but  the  most  interesting  is  the  Maison  Hansfatique,  or 
Hanseatic  House,  a  massive  and  venerable  magazine,  almost  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old.  This  was  a  great  warehouse  of  the  Hanse-cities  in  the  days  of  the  Hanseatic 
League,  when  that  famous  trade  union  was  mistress  of  nearly  all  the  commerce  of 
Europe.  It  bears  even  now  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  three  cities  of  the  League, 
with  the  inscription  in  Latin  :  "  The  warehouse  of  the  German  Hanse,  protected  by  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire."  In  1863  the  Hanseatic  towns  ceded  it  to  Belgium  for  all  river 
dues  that  could  be  demanded  from  their  vessels.  The  best  harbor  view  is  from  the 
Vlaamsch  Hoofd  or  Tete  de  Flandre,  a  fortress  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  opposite  the 
Gate  of  the  Escaut,  in  the  center  of  the  river  front.  Along  the  river  lies  the  old  town, 
whose  ancient  double  ramparts  you  can  trace  in  the  two  parallel  sets  of  boulevards  or 
avenues  that  form  a  regular  and  gentle  curve  above  the  river  ;  beyond  lies  the  new  city, 
covering  about  six  times  as  much  territory,  and  with  it  forming  almost  a  perfect  half- 
round  on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream.  Always  a  famous  citadel,  Antwerp  has  a  fine 
new  set  of  fortifications  now,  with  massive  bastioned  walls,  detached  forts,  and  great 
moats,  making  a  grand  semi-circular  sweep  all  the  way  around  the  land  sides  of  the 
city.  It  is  the  principal  arsenal  of  the  kingdom,  and,  in  case  of  need,  will  be  the 
rendezvous  of  the  Belgian  army.  It  would  take  fully  a  hundred  and  seventy  thousand 
enemies  to  conquer  it  under  siege,  and  the  inhabitants  could  live  for  a  year  cut  oT 
from  outside  supplies. 

Antwerp  is  the  most  interesting  town  in  Belgium,  and,  as  the  people  are  nearly  all 
Flemish,  it  is  much  like  a  Dutch,  or  a  German  city,  but  with  one  great  difference  ;  no 
one  would  accuse  Antwerp  of  the  Dutch  cleanliness.  In  place  of  the  high  but  narrow 
houses,  common  in  the  Netherlandish  cities,  thefoare  here  older  and  often  more  preten- 
tious structures  ;  the  streets  and  sidewalks  are  built  with  the  smooth  Belgian  pave- 
ment, and  between  rows  of  costly  modern  buildings  there  are  many  lines  of  American 
horse-cars.  No  Dutch  or  German  galleries  have  any  Flemish  pictures  to  compare  with 


STREET    SCENE,    BRUGES. 


172  Cities  of  the   World. 

Antwerp's  wonderful  works  of  Peter  Paul  Rubens,  which,  alone,  draw  hundreds  of 
people  every  year.  Every  other  attraction  in  the  city  is  second  to  the  majestic  old 
cathedral  where  these  gems  of  art  are  kept.  "  The  glory  of  the  Cathedral  of  Antwerp 
is  in  the  great  paintings  which  it  enshrines."  There  are  three  in  all,  "  The  Assumption," 
and  two  others — still  greater — representing  the  Saviour's  "  Descent  from  the  Cross,"  and 
the  "  Elevation  of  the  Cross."  A  celebrated  writer  says,  These  are  paintings  whose 
treatment,  like  their  subject,  is  divine,  and  although  the  "  Descent  "  is  generally  thought  to 
be  Rubens's  masterpiece,  they  are  worthy  of  each  other.  "  In  the  Elevation  of  the  Cross 
our  Saviour  has  been  nailed  to  the  fatal  tree,  which  the  Roman  soldiers  are  raising  to 
plant  in  the  earth.  The  form  is  that  of  a  living  man.  The  hands  and  feet  are  stream- 
ing with  blood,  and  the  body  drops,  as  it  hangs,  with  all  its  weight  on  the  nails.  But  the 
look  is  one  of  life  and  not  of  death.  The  face  has  an  expression  of  suffering,  yet  not  of 
mere  physical  pain.  The  agony  is  more  than  human  ;  as  the  eyes  are  turned  upward, 
there  is  more  than  mortal  majesty  in  the  look, — it  is  the  dying  God.  In  the  Descent 
from  the  Cross,  the  struggle  is  over :  there  is  death  in  every  feature,  in  the  face,  pale 
and  bloodless,  in  the  limbs  that  hang  motionless,  in  the  whole  body  as  it  sinks  into  the 
arms  of  the  faithful  attendants.  If  Rubens  had  never  painted  but  these  two  pictures, 
he  would  deserve  to  be  ranked  as  one  of  the  world's  great  masters."  They  dignify  the 
plain  whitewashed  interior  of  the  cathedral ;  they  honor  the  city  in  which  they  rest ; 
and  even  make  the  country  famous  as  the  land  where  the  great  Rubens  lived,  worked, 
and  died,  though  he  was  born  in  Cologne.  "  Out  of  meanness  and  dirt,  the  cathedral  lifts 
its  head  toward  heaven."  There  is  a  view  from  the  single  finished  tower,  that  costs  about 
fifteen  cents  and  a  steady  mount  of*six  hundred  and  twenty-five  stone  steps  to  obtain  it, 
but  repays  you  with  compound  interest.  "  The  eye  ranges  over  almost  the  whole  of 
Belgium,  a  vast  plain  dotted  with  cities  and  villages."  In  this  lofty  tower  of  open 
arches,  which  Napoleon  said  looked  as  if  made  of  Mechlin  lace,  there  hangs  a  chime  of 
bells  which  ring  out  some  soft,  delicious  melody  every  quarter  hour,  like  heavenly  music 
from  the  clouds.  The  roof  below  is  supported  by  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  pillars,  and 
beneath  it  are  six  aisles.  There  is  no  other  church  in  Europe  with  so % many.  The 
church  was  founded  in  the  Middle  Ages,  is  of  the  handsome  Gothic  style,  in  the  form  of 
a  cross,  five  hundred  feet  long,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  broad.  There  are  only  a  few 
cathedrals  more  grand  than  this  in  the  world  ;  but  the  shops  that  hedge  it  in,  and  back 
up  against  its  walls,  shamefully  cover  and  mar  its  beauty.  It  stands  adjoining 
the  Place  Verte,  which  is  in' the  very  heart  of  the  old  town,  and  the  meeting  place  of 
an  innumerable  number  of  streets,  among  which  are  about  half  a  dozen  of  the  busiest 
and  most  important  in  Antwerp.  Near  the  principal  portal  is  the  Well,  the  famous  old 
fountain  with  its  graceful  iron-work  canopy  of  Quinten  Massys,  "at  one  time  a  black- 
smith, afterward  a  famous  painter,"  as  the  inscription  on  his  tombstone  reads.  Upon 
the  short  and  ancient  streets,  running  in  every  direction,  from  here  toward  the  river  and 


„-•-•  „  *-'^     '---•:.  £3  Pr^r^CTiJ^^^*^Sf!^ 

c  ^     •'• '   -     •     ,.  t ••  * 


THE    BELFRY,    BRUGES. 


174  Cities  of  the    World. 

toward  the  boulevards,  there  stand  most  of  the  remaining  celebrated  buildings  of  Ant- 
werp. The  Hotel  de  Ville  in  the  Grand'  Place,  close  by  the  river,  is  imposingly  built  in 
stories  of  columns  and  arcades  and  circular  arched  windows  ;  it  is  almost  bewildering 
inside  with  its  colored  Belgian  marbles,  its  wood  carvings,  scenes  in  ancient  Antwerp, 
and  other  paintings.  The  other  buildings  around  the  Grand'  Place,  are  mainly  Guild 
houses  or  trades  halls,  which  are  peculiar  to  Belgian  cities,  and  especially  in  Antwerp, 
Ghent,  and  Brussels,  are  among  the  most  notable  sights.  They  are  grandly  proportioned 
and  richly  decorated  halls,  once  belonging  to  the  proud  guildes,  or  trade  societies  ; 
many  of  the  buildings  are  still  known  by  their  old  names,  as  the  Guild  Hall  of  the 
Archers,  Hall  of  the  Coopers,  House  of  the  Sailors,  and  the  Hall  of  the  Carpenters,  all 
of  which  are  at  least  two  hundred  years  old,  and  many  are  nearly  twice  that  age.  With 
museums  and  fine  public  institutions,  Antwerp  is  well  supplied,  and  among  the  best 
streets  running  through  the  center  of  the  old  town  toward  the  new,  one  of  the  most 
notable  is  the  broad  and  handsome  sweep  of  the  Longue  Rue  Neuve}  where  the  gay 
shops  are  richly  stored  and  well  patronized  ;  almost  parallel  with  it  is  the  Place  de 
Metr,  a  broad  avenue,  formed  by  arching  over  a  canal  ;  it  is  built  up  with  handsome 
new  houses,  but  also  containing  the  Royal  Palace,  Rubens's  house  and  a  few  other  par- 
ticularly fine  old  mansions.  The  inner  set  of  parallel  boulevards  is  very  wide  ;  and 
shaded  with  rows  of  trees  near  the  center  of  the  city.  Bordering  on  one  of  the  outer 
"rings  "  is  the  park,  which  is  shaped  like  a  perfect  triangle  and  occupies  the  site  of  an 
old  lunette,  with  the  moats  made  into  a  large  and  ornamental  sheet  of  water.  There  is 
a  charming  view  from  the  high  chain  bridge  crossing  this  lake.  To  the  west  and  the 
north-west  is  the  old  town,  skirting  the  river,  with  all  the  most  quaint  as  well  as  many  of 
the  most  imposing  buildings — churches,  museums,  hospitals,  and  barracks,  among  less 
pretentious  houses.  On  the  north  these  old  and  the  newer  quarters  are  skirted  by  the 
great  inclosed  docks  ;  on  the  south-west  are  large  schools  and  exhibition  buildings,  with 
many  of  the  military  institutions,  while  on  the  south  of  the  triangle-shaped  park  lies  the 
most  openly  built  part  of  the  city,  with  several  long,  fine  avenues,  few  of  which  run 
regularly,  but  meet  in  crescents,  acute  angles,  obtuse  angles  and  every  shape  except  in 
even  right  angles.  The  east  and  north-east  quarters  are  also  occupied  by  many  resi- 
dences, by  the  Zoological  Gardens  and  churches  ;  the  districts  beyond  the  fortifications 
are  laid  out  in  avenues  and  streets,  more  sparsely  settled.  There  are  a  few  other  parks, 
but  the  Belgian  cities  are  not  so  richly  supplied  with  pleasure  grounds  as  Germany, 
nor  even  as  well  as  France,  although  the  people — much  like  the  French  in  many 
things — are  very  fond  of  out-door  life  and  use  what  parks  they  have  to  the  best 
advantage. 

Beside  these  two  leading  cities  of  the  "  land  of  belfries,  town  halls,  stained  glass 
and  carved  pulpits,"  there  are  several  others  belonging  to  the  world's  list  of  great 
cities. 


Cities  of  the   World. 

Ghent  was  the  most  populous  city  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  has  now 
about  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  people,  who  are  chiefly  occupied  in  the  great 
cotton-spinning  factories,  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  kingdom.  Liege,  with  a  hundred 
and  twenty-six  thousand  people,  is  also  feeling  a  return  of  bygone  prosperity,  and  is  now 
the  center  of  the  Belgian  iron  industry  ;  Bruges  (forty-five  thousand  people)  is  a  town 
"  whose  splendid  garments  are  too  large  for  its  shrunken  body,"  and  can  only  tell  in 
a  mute  way  of  past  magnificence  ;  Mechlin,  or  Malines,  with  about  the  same  popula- 
tion, famous  for  lace,  is  now  the  railroad  center  of  Belgium  ;  Louvain,  too,  of  thirty-six 
thousand  people,  is  celebrated  for  having  had  the  greatest  university  in  Europe  in  the 
sixteenth  century. 


THE    PIERS    AT    OSTEND. 


SWITZERLAND. 


'"T^HIS  small  country  of  Europe  is  about  half  the  size  of  the  state  of  Indiana  with  a 
JL  third  more  people.  It  is  a  sturdy,  independent  little  republic,  occupying  the  highest 
land  of  Europe,  grandly  protected  by  the  Juras  and  the  Alps  from  the  larger  and 
more  powerful  nations  of  Germany  on  the  north,  Austria  on  the  east,  France  on  the  west 
and  Italy  on  the  south.  The  southern 
portion  of  the  country  is  the  most  beautiful 
and  mountainous  district  in  the  world  ; 
there  is  a  broad  and  lovely  plain  above, 
extending  to  the  Juras  in  what  are  called 
the  Swiss  Lowlands.  Here  lie  the  prin- 
cipal cities.  There  are  not  many,  and 
although  they  are  all  more  or  less  famous, 
none  rank  among  the  first  of  the  world's 
great  cities.  The  largest  town  in  Switzer- 
land is  Geneva.  It  stands  on  both  sides 
of  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Leman,  where 
it  narrows  to  a  point  and  ends  as  it  began 
in  the  river  Rhone.  A  breakwater  forms  a 
safe  harbor  for  the  many  steamboats  run- 
ning between  this  and  various  other  im- 
portant places  on  the  lake.  The  swift 
rushing  Rhone  flows  through  the  city  in 
two  branches  forming  two  islands,  which 
with  the  two  large  divisions  also  are  con- 
nected by  several  wooden  bridges  and  a 
very  fine  stone  bridge.  One  of  these 
islands  is  a  small  public  pleasure  ground, 
where  there  is  a  bronze  statue  of  Jean 
Jacques  Rousseau,  "  who  first  made  Leman 
and  the  Rhone  beautiful  in  literature,  and 
so  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  "  The  island  THE  JUNGFRAU  FROM  INTERLAKEN, 

is  named  after  the  great  Genevese  author  ;  IN  THE  ALPS. 

it    is     described    as    "just     large    enough    to    hold    the    statue    and    two    or   three 
Lombardy    poplars,  and    to    form    in    its    lee    an    inclosure    for  a  large   and   quar- 


78 


Cities  of  the  World. 


relsome  colony  of  swans."  On  the  second  island  stand  "tall  old-fashioned 
houses  of  workmen  and  washerwomen,  that  form  a  part  of  the  St.  Gervais 
quarter  of  the  city,  or  the  Geneva  of  the  right  shore."  This  is  an  antique 
and  picturesque  quarter  backed  by  a  range  of  snow-capped  mountains,  with  Mont  Blanc 
looming  up  still  higher  forty  miles  away  in  a  straight  line.  The  washerwomen  are  an 
odd  sight.  "  They  pound  and  rinse  their  clothes  in  plain  view  of  all  comers  every  week- 
day in  the  year  in  the  covered  boats  anchored  by  the  banks  of  the  Rhone  ;  the  water 


THE    LAKE   AND    CITY    OF   GENEVA. 


rushes  past  them  swift  and  pure  ;  behind  them  are  the  old  Savoyard  houses,  almost  pre- 
historic in  their  quaintness.  The  old  town  occupies  but  a  small  part  of  the  present  city, 
with  its  "  tall,  queer  houses,  standing  thick  and  dingy,  one  looking  over  the  others' 
shoulders  as  they  crowd  upon  the  hillside.  The  chimney  pots  reach  out  over  the  tiles 
in  all  sorts  of  angles  and  tilting  with  the  sky  as  you  look  up,  and  mark  the  towers  of  the 
old  cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  rising  from  their  midst."  The  Cathe- 
dral was  raised  in  1124,  and  around  it  centered  the  medieval  history  of  Geneva — there 


Geneva. 


179 


the  words  of  the  wonderful  invalid  John  Calvin  rung  out  for  the  first  time  and  spread 
abroad  till  now  they  guide  the  religious  opinions  of  fifty  millions  of  people. 

"  The  building  inside  or  out  is  not  imposing  ;  the  classic  facade  dates  only  from  the 
eighteenth  century,  for  the  statues  and  many  other  beauties  were  swept  away  by  the 
reformers  "  ;  but  within  it  is  very  much  as  Calvin  left  it,  over  three  hundred  years  ago. 
"  The  canopy  of  the  pulpit  from  which  he  preached,  and  the  chair  in  which  he  sat  when 
others  preached,  the  front  seats  with  the  names  of  the  old  pastors  and  the  other  seats 
bearing  the  names  of  the  old  Genevese  families,  all  are  there  as  when  the  city  was  Cal- 
vanistic  Rome,  the  school  and  printing  press  of  Protestant  Europe,  the  refuge  of 
reformers,  a  center  of  energy  and  activity  in  the  making  and  Spreading  abroad  of  Bibles 
or  martyrs  that  has  probably  never  been  equaled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  cathe- 


MEMORIAL    HALL    OF    THE    REFORMATION,    GENEVA. 

dral  has  been  the  forum — or  center  of  city  life — as  well  as  the  sanctuary  of  Geneva  ; 
there  year  after  year  the  citizens  have  assembled  in  general  council,  elected  their  magis- 
trates and  voted  their  laws."  Next  to  this  in  historical  importance,  and  surpassing  it  in 
architecture  is  the  Hotel  de  Ville  with  its  quaint  squat  tower,  about  which  zigzags  a 
wide  paved  carriageway  up  to  the  different  stories  of  the  building "  containing  the 
various  chambers  used  as  the  seat  of  the  cantonal  government,  which  in  Switzerland 
corresponds  to  our  state  legislatures,  for  the  management  of  the  Swiss  cantons  is 
much  like  our  states  government.  Here  on  certain  days  of  the  week  the  magistrate 
performs  the  civil  marriage,  which  must  legalize  all  unions.  In  front  of  the 
building,  the  remains  of  the  old  ramparts  form  a  handsome  terrace,  from  which  there  is  a 


i  So  Cities  of  the   World. 

fine  view  of  the  Plainpalais  and  the  valley  of  the  Rhone  and  Arve.  Across  the  street 
from  the  Hotel  de  Ville  is  an  arsenal,  or  rather  a  museum  of  old  arms  and  armor,  where 
some  of  the  spikes,  petards,  and  scaling  ladders  captured  at  the  famous  Escalade — the  last 
struggle  of  Geneva  with  the  dukes  of  Savoy,  in  1602 — are  shown.  A  fountain  in  memory  of 
this  victorious  event  stands  at  the  bottom  of  the  crooked  street  leading  from  the  Hotel  de 
Ville  to  the  Rhone.  It  is  the  street  in  which  Rousseau  was  born  and  is  called  the 
Grande  Rue.  During  the  past  thirty  or  forty  years  Geneva  has  been  altered  and 
improved  very  much.  The  ancient  ramparts  have  been  taken  down,  the  narrow,  close 
streets  widened  and  well-paved,  and  new  and  spacious  quays  have  been  built  along  the 
lake  and  river.  One  of  th'e  favorite  resorts  is  the  English  Garden,  a  promenade  laid  out 
along  part  of  the  new  quay  on  the  left  side  of  the  river.  In  the  plain  into  which  the 
new  city  is  spreading  a  botanic  garden  has  been  laid  out,  and  the  Muse"e  Rath,  or  Rath 
Museum,  and  other  fine  looking  buildings  for  the  use  of  science  and  art  have  been 
raised. 

The  fame  of  Geneva's  watch-makers  is  world-wide.  Above  the  washerwomen's  sheds 
there  is  a  square  tower,  known  as  the  Tower  of  Caesar.  It  stands  almost  in  the  center  of 
the  city  and  after  all  its  thrilling  history  is  now  the  home  of  a  peaceful  watch-maker* 
and  serves  with  its  three  dial  faces  standing  in  a  row  and  looking  toward  the  water,  to 
tell  at  once  the  time  of  Paris,  Geneva,  and  Bern.  On  all  sides,  especially  toward  St. 
Gervais,  it  looks  down  on  the  homes  of  a  great  hidden  army  of  watch-makers.  Out  of 
the  city's  population  of  about  seventy  thousand  there  are  about  five  thousand  men — over 
one  third  of  the  male  inhabitants — constantly  engaged  in  making  watches,  while  two  or 
three  thousand  more  are  employed  in  making  musical  boxes.  The  remainder  are  mostly 
jewelry  workers.  These  three  industries  are  the  chief  occupations  of  the  people. 
It  is  supposed  that  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  watches  are  made  in 
Geneva  every  year.  The  work  is  separated  into  two  departments,  the  watch-makers 
and  the  case-makers.  There  are  no  very  large  factories,  and  all  the  men  usually 
work  at  home.  Where  a  quaint  old  house  reaches  out  for  light  high  above  the  dinginess 
of  its  narrow  court  you  may  be  sure  that  it  contains  the  work  room  of  some  watch-maker, 
or  engraver,  some  case-maker  or  enameler.  Geneva  is  a  remarkably  well-governed 
place  ;  you  only  see  policemen  when  they  are  needed  ;  every  one  who  takes  up  his 
home  here  can  share  in  the  freedom,  and,  whether  he  is  liked  or  not,  he  is  undisturbed 
so  long  as  he  is  quiet.  There  are  always  many  exiles  in  Geneva, — aliens  for  right  or  for 
wrong, — but  there  are  no  foreign  beggars  here,  or  any  other  kind  in  fact,  for  beggars  are 
not  allowed.  Altogether  this  little  city,  which  has  ever  stood  well  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  "  was  never  more  prosperous  nor  more  deserving  of  her  position  of  honor  than  at 
present." 

There  is  one  set  of  inhabitants  that  always  have  a  great  many  visitors  ;  they  are  the 
eagles  of  Geneva.     There  are  six  of  the  great  birds  kept     in  a  large  double  cage,  par- 


STREET    SCENE,    BERN. 


1 82  Cities  of  the   World. 

tially  overhanging  the  river.  They  are  the  property  of  the  city,  and  like  the  bears  of 
Bern,  are  kept  at  the  public  expense.  The  eagles  occupy,  like  Bern's  bears,  a  pictorial 
position  in  the  shield  of  Geneva,  and  if  one  dies  another  is  procured  to  take  its 
place. 

The  second  town  and  the  wealthiest  of  the  country,  is  the  trading  city  of  Basel,  01 
Bale.  The  entire  place,  including  great  Bale  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rhine,  and  little 
Bale  on  the  north  bank,  has  only  about  sixty  thousand  people  now,  though  in  the  middle 
ages  it  was  very  large  and  important.  You  would  not  think  as  you  pass  through  its  clean 
streets  and  among  its  well  built  houses  that  it  is  the  richest  city  of  this  thriving  republic  ; 
but  if  you  were  a  close  observer  you  would  soon  recognize  its  prosperity,  when  you 
visited  the  fine  schools,  hospitals  and  places  provided  for  orphans,  and  unfortunate  people 
who  are  deaf,  dumb  and  variously  afflicted.  For  the  use  of  the  city  and  the  celebrated 
university,  there  are  some  unusally  good  museums  with  coin  collections,  natural  history 
cabinets,  libraries,  picture  galleries  and  an  attractive  botanic  garden.  The  university 
was  a  very  important  one  during  the  Reformation.  Erasmus  and  many  other  great 
scholars  taught  within  its  walls.  Switzerland  leads  the  world  in  its  interest  and  atten- 
tion to  education.  One-fifth  of  all  the  money  the  government  spends  is  on  education 
and  religion.  An  Austrian  who  is  an  authority,  says  :  twenty  per  cent  of  the  taxes 
paid  by  the  Swiss  are  used  to  improve  the  education,  morals  and  religious  sentiments  of 
the  population.  Switzerland  has  one  university  for  every  four  hundred  thousand  inhabi- 
tants ;  all  other  European  countries  are  in  this  far  behind  the  little  highland  republic, 
which  uses  nearly  fourteen  per  cent  of  its  whole  income  to  educate  and  train  its  young 
people,  with  splendid  elementary  a'nd  high  schools,  gymnasia  and  academies,  universities 
and  polytechnic  institutes,  all  modeled  upon  the  best  of  systems. 

The  capital  of  Switzerland  is  Bern,  the  third  city,  with  about  forty-five  thousand 
people.  It  stands  on  a  lofty  sand-stone  promontory  seventeen  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea.  The  winding  Aar  river  surrounds  it  on  three  sides,  and  is  crossed  by  two 
stone  bridges,  one  of  which  is  very  handsome  and  adds  a  great  deal  to  the  natural 
beauties  of  the  city.  On  the  fourth  side  the  old  fortifications  have  been  made  into  pub- 
lic walks.  From  a  distance  Bern  is  a  fine,  imposing  looking  city,  and  on  nearer  view  is 
equally  pleasing,  with  its  quaint  streets  and  handsome  houses.  These  are  massive  free- 
stone structures  and  in  some  places  built  above  arcades,  in  which  the  shops  of  the  city 
are  situated,  lining  the  covered  walks  on  both  sides  of  the  streets  with  their  odd  signs 
and  showy  windows.  Whichever  way  one  walks  he  is  almost  sure  to  find  it  lead  to  some 
pleasant  public  promenade,  in  full  view  of  the  snowy  Alpine  peaks,  and  even  within  the 
town  the  streets  are  pleasantly  adorned  with  fountains  and  have  fresh  rills  of  water  flow- 
ing through  them.  The  Gothic  cathedral,  over  four  hundred  years  old,  and  several  other 
buildings  in  Bern  are  of  special  interest  ;  the  new  Federal  Council  Hall  is  a  magnificent 
structure,  and  the  mint,  the  hospital,  the  university,  libraries  and  museums  are  all  a 


Bern.  183 

credit  to  the  capital.  A  favorite  walk  toward  evening  or  on  Sunday  afternoon  is  to  the 
bear  pit,  where  these  animals  are  kept  and  cared  for  at  the  public  expense,  after  a  custom 
that  is  centuries  old.  It  is  believed  that  the  town  was  once  the  native  home  of  bears, 
from  which  it  was  named  Bern,  meaning  bear  ;  many  traditions  are  told  about  them  ; 
and  throughout  the  place  the  figure  of  a  bear  is  a  familiar  ornament.  There  are  not 
large  manufacturing  industries  at  Bern  ;  gunpowder,  firearms,  leather,  straw  hats  and 
paper  are  chiefly  the  articles  made  here  ;  while  considerable  outside  trade  is  also  carried 
on.  The  living  is  cheap,  for  the  corporate  property  is  so  large  that  all  the  city  expenses 
are  paid  from  its  income,  and  all  the  citizens  are  provided  with  fuel  gratis  and  receive 
an  annual  distribution  from  the  surplus. 

There  is  no  coal  to  be  had  in  Switzerland  ;  the  forests  that  cover  one-sixth  of  the 
whole  country  are  of  great  importance.  Wood  cutting  is  one  of  the  chief  employments 
of  the  people,  and  some  of  the  finest  of  wood  work  and  wood  carving  is  done  there  ;  the 
mountain  pastures  and  the  meadows  cover  two-fifths  of  the  land,  and  feed  the  herds 
and  flocks,  while  silks  and  cotton  are  raised  and  manufactured  in  considerable  quantities. 
Although  Switzerland  is  inland  its  commerce,  carried  on  across  the  lakes  and  up  the  great 
rivers,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  has  long  exceeded  that  of  any  other  country  on 
the  continent.  It  sends  out  wood  and  charcoal,  cattle,  tallow,  cheese  and  butter,  silks, 
cottons,  watches  and  jewelry,  in  exchange  for  metals  used  in  making  jewelry  and  watches, 
corn,  salt,  fruits  and  products  that  this  mountainous  country  can  not  grow.  There  are 
excellent  roads  from  one  part  of  the  republic  to  another,  and  approved  modern  steam- 
boats ply  from  place  to  place  across  the  lakes.  The  steep  mountains  have  been 
tunneled  and  the  plains  overspread  from  one  end  to  the  other  with  railways  that  make 
a  complete  network  of  communication  closely  connecting  the  numerous  small  towns  and 
villages  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 


IRELAND. 


Among  Americans  the  most  widely  known  place  in  Ireland  is  the  bold  cliff-guarded 
harbor  of  Queen stown.  It  is  not  unlike  the  New  York  harbor,  with  Roche's  Point 
instead  of  the  Narrows,  and  the  circular  bay  beyond  with  its  islands  and  hilly  shores, 
It  has  anchorage  for  thousands  of  ships  and  is  deep  enough  to  admit  the  largest  at  any 


QUEENSTOWN. 

tide.  "  At  the  head  of  the  bay,  in  an  almost  straight  line  from  the  Point,  is  the  town  of 
square,  white  houses,  built  in  terraces,  on  a  wooded  and  heathery  bluff."  It  is  a  pretty 
sight  of  green  and  white,  almost  like  some  tropical  scene,  when  the  sun  is  shining.  "  At 
the  foot  of  the  cliff  and  along  the  quays  is  a  street  of  shops  and  taverns  ;  the  higher 
terraces  are  principally  dwellings,  and  the  higher  they  are  the  better  is  the  class  to  which 


Queenstown. 

they  belong  ;  the  top  ridge  of  all  is  crowned  by  a  few  beautiful  palace-like  villas.  The 
town  itself  is  a  dull  place,  its  use  being  very  largely  as  a  touching  place  for  transatlantic 
steamers."  All  the  mail  steamers  between  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia  and 
Liverpool  call  at  it  whichever  way  they  are  bound,  to  receive  and  deliver  mails  ;  vessels 
stop  long  enough  for  a  great  deal  of  business  to  be  done  by  telegraph  and  writing,  or  a 
short  trip  to  the  lakes  of  Killarney  ;  it  is  an  important  emigrant  station  and  landing 
place  for  tourists  bound  for  the  North.  There  are  so  many  Americans  in  the  town  that 


LAKES   OF    KILLARNEY. 


it  seems  more  a  part  of  the  United  States  than  of  Great  Britain.  The  name  of  Queens- 
town  was  given  in  honor  of  the  queen,  when  her  majesty  visited  the  port  in  1850.  Before 
this  it  was  called  the  Cove  of  Cork,  being  situated  but  a  short  distance  above  the  city  of 
CORK.  This  has  about  eighty  thousand  people  and  is  the  third  city  of  Ireland.  Not- 
withstanding Father  Prout's  praises  of  the  "beautiful  "  city,  Cork  is  small  in  size,  with 
uninteresting  houses  of  old  red  sandstone,  and  untidy  streets,  though  of  considerable 
commercial  importance  and  forever  famous  for  Blarney  Castle  and  the  Blarney  stone, 
which  you  must  not  fail  to  kiss  whenever  you  go  there,  for  it  will  give  you  the  gift  of 
eloquence  in  return  for  your  salute.  . 


1 86 


Cities  of  the    World. 


Belfast,  the  second  city  of  the  country,  with  its  active,  wide  awake  population  ol 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  is  a  very  different  place,  and  a  seaport  too.  It  has  all 
the  life  and  trade  of  Manchester  and  Glasgow,  with  far  less  smoke  and  dirt  to  obscure 
its  outline  of  lofty  and  handsome  buildings  against  the  background  of  green  hills. 
Along  the  extensive  and  well  built  quays  lies  the  mercantile  quarter,  while  the  manu- 
factories stand  on  higher  ground  on  the  north  and  west  of  the  city.  Many  villas  are 

L__^__  _u ••in n  -  _^znaMc along   the   northern    shores   of    the 

bay,  and  the  White  Linen  Hall 
quarter  is  made  up  of  well  built 
and  spacious  streets,  always  full  of 
people,  for  Belfast  is  the  chief  center 
of  trade  and  manufacture  in  north- 
ern Ireland.  It  is  well  situated  for 

yiilflllilSK  commerce,  and  is   growing  so  fast 

that  before  long  it  may  become  the 
first  city  in  Green  Erin.  Beside  the 
staple  industries  of  linen  and  cotton 


DONEGAL   PLACE,  BELFAST 


making  in  all  their  branches,  there  are 

many  houses   employing   thousands  of 

hands  in  iron  founding,  flour   and   oil 

mills  and  other  occupations,  to  fill  the 

demands  of  shipping  and  outside  trade. 

The    exchange  buildings   are  some  of 

the  most  important  in  the  city.     The 

harbor  has  been  improved  very  much 

lately,  with  many  fine  new  docks  and  a 

tidal  basin  ;    it  now  ranks  among  the 

best  in  Great  Britain.     The  chief  port  of  Ireland  is  at  Dublin,  the  capital,  which  is  not 

only  a  very  important  city  but  a  beautiful  one  as  well. 

Surrounded  by  grand  mountain  scenery,  it  stands  on  slightly  rolling  ground,  much 
of  it  reclaimed  from  the  sea,  with  the  "  watery  highway  "  of  the  Liffey  dividing  it  almost 
in  the  center,  before  emptying  into  Dublin  Bay.  The  favorite  drive  of  the  Dubliners  is 


CASTLE  PLACE,  BELFAST. 


Dublin. 


i87 


the  Circular  Road,  which  makes  a  circuit  of  nearly  nine  miles  around  the  city,  inclosing 
its  widely  contrasting  quarters,  where  live  the  high  and  low,  the  rich  and  poor  of  a 
strangely  broken  nation.  The  .river  runs  from  west  to  east  and  is  the  main  highway  of 
the  capital.  The  north-east  and  south-east  quarters  are  occupied  by  the  aristocracy, 
with  lofty  houses  overlooking  beautiful  squares,  lining  the  splendid  streets  or  standing 
upon  terraces  above  them.  Dublin  is  famous  for  its  squares  ;  there  are  a  great  many, 
always  large  and  well  kept,  and  often 
embellished  with  statuary.  Stephen's 
Green,  the  largest,  covers  twenty 
acres,  and  is  about  a  mile  around ; 
and  Merrion  square,  more  elegant 
and  aristocratic,  is  thirteen  acres  in 
size.  The  most  imposing  thoroughfare 


THE    FOUR   COURTS,    DUBLIN. 

is  Sackville  street,  which  is  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  broad  ;  it  begins  at  Rutland  Square 
in  about  the  center  of  the  upper  town  and  from  the  beautiful  building  of  the  general 
Post  Office,  leads  the  way,  with  many  a  handsome  edifice  and  noble  monument,  to  the 
river  and  the  Carlisle  Bridge,  which  is  the  finest  of  the  many  that  connect  the  two  towns 
of  the  Irish  capital.  A  continuation  of  the  handsome  street  leads  to  the  large  park  or 
square  of  the  Trinity  College  and  University,  which  forms  a  triangle  whose  point  is  al- 
most at  the  foot  of  the  Bridge.  This  is  in  the  center  of  the  city,  which  vies  with  the 
north-west  quarters  in  the  style  of  its  great  emporiums  of  trade.  In  many  of  the  shop- 


i88 


Cities  of  the    World. 


windows  you  can  see  magnificent  quantities  of  rich  linens  and  damasks,  and  lustrous 
pieces  of  the  famous  Irish  poplins,  made  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  There  are  many 
residences  of  the  middle  class  of  people  here,  while  in  the  "  Liberties,"  or  the  south-west 
division,  the  narrow,  crooked  streets  are  filled  with  huts  and  shanties,  which  are  the 
homes  of  thousands  of  the  most  squalid  and  degraded  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Emerald 


CUSTOM    HOUSE,    DUBLIN. 

Isle.  The  Phoenix  Park,  which  became  of  familiar  name  soon  after  the  murder  of  Lord 
Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke,  adjoins  the  north-western  portion  of  the  city.  It  is  more  than 
twice  the  size  of  Central  Park  in  New  York  City  and  is  a  great  and  popular  recreation 
ground,  where  military  reviews,  polo  matches,  and  fine  games  of  cricket  are  often  held. 
The  name  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  word  feitn'ski,  or  clear  water,  there  being  a 
mineral  spring  in  the  neighborhood.  The  People's  Garden  is  a  small  part  of  the  Phoenix 
Park,  toward  the  City  Gate  ;  it  is  laid  out  with  flower  gardens  and  promenades  and  is 
visited  by  all  classes  of  people. 


SCOTLAND. 


THE  famous  land  of  Bruce  and  Wallace,  of  Scott  and  Burns,  is  associated  with  a  thou- 
sand thrilling  stories  in  legend  and  in  history.  Scotland  is  divided  into  two  distinct 
portions  ;  the  Highlands  of  the  North  are  occupied  by  the  Keltic  or  Gaelic  races,  while 
in  the  South  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Teutons  possess  the  Lowlands.  Herein  are 
the  centers  of  culture  and  industry,  the  largest  cities  and  richest  country.  The  most 
celebrated  city  is  Edinburgh,  the  largest,  Glasgow. 

Edinburgh  is  the  capital  of 
Scotland,  and  stands  in  a  most 
prominent  position  on  the  slope 
and  summit  of  three  hills, 
dominated  by  the  grand  old  cas- 
tle in  the  center.  From  here 
there  is  a  view  that  takes  in 
almost  the  entire  city,  and  gives 
a  better  sight  of  the  contrast 
between  Old  Edinburgh  on  the 
eastern  ridge  and  New  Edin- 
burgh above,  than  any  other  of 
the  high  and  commanding  points. 
The  east  of  New  Edinburgh  is 
guarded  by  a  craggy  mound 
called  Gallon  Hill,  whose  base  is  encircled  by  broad  roads  of  the  town.  "  You  mount 
by  stairs  in  a  cutting  of  the  rock  to  find  yourself  in  a  field  of  monuments,  among  which 
you  see  that  of  Dugald  Stewart,  Burns,  and  Lord  Nelson,  as  befits  a  sailor,  on  the  top- 
gallant of  the  hill.  The  old  Observatory — a  quaint  brown  building  on  the  edge  of  the 
steep — and  the  new  Observatory — a  classical  edifice  with  a  dome — occupy  the  central 
portion  of  the  summit.  All  these  are  scattered  on  a  green  turf,  browsed  over  by  some 
sheep.  Immediately  below  is  the  famous  old  Cannon-gate  Churchyard.  From  here  you 
see  almost  the  entire  city,  tilted  by  the  inclination  of  the  ground,  each  building  standing 
out  in  delicate  relief  against  the  rest  :  a  prospect  full  of  change  and  of  things  moving." 
The  New  Town  surrounds  the  castle-hill,  on  all  but  the  east  and  south-east  sides, 
with  its  trim  and  regular  streets,  its  gay  and  attractive  gardens,  its  pillars,  steeples,  and 


KEYS   OF    THE    CITY,    EDINBURGH. 


190 


Cities  of  the  World. 


monuments  ;  "  the  rest  is  the  Old  Town  of  bulky,  endless-storied  buildings,  and  steep 
descending  closes  ;  it  is  a  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill,  grim  and  sooty  among  the  fair  and 
classic  stretches  of  the  newer  quarters." 

In  the  early  days  of  danger,  when  Old  Edinburgh's  walls  were  the  only  safeguard 
for  the  heads  of  the  Scottish  government,  it  became  a  place  of  great  importance  in  the 
kingdom  and  grew  so  rapidly  in  population  that  every  possible  inch  of  room  was  used 
for  houses,  which  soon  rose  to  a  height  of  from  five  to  eleven  stories,  one  side  being 


EDINBURGH. 

often  built  against  the  natural  ridges  of  rock  ;  throughout  the  whole  city  only  one  or  two 
broad  public  thoroughfares  were  left,  most  of  the  houses  having  only  steep  paved  lanes 
or  "closes"  between  them.  The  main  avenue,  the  backbone  of  this  u Attld Reikif"  as 
it  has  been  called,  led  from  the  Grand  Esplanade  in  front  of  the  Castle,  along  the  ridge 
to  the  Palace  of  Holyrood,  or  the  Holy  Cross.  The  first  section  of  this  famous  old  thor- 
oughfare is  Castle  Hill,  which  was  the  most  aristocratic  part  of  town  a  century  and  a  half 
ago.  Then  comes  the  Lawn  Market,  continued  by  High  Street,  the  broadest  of  the  sec- 


Edinburgh. 


191 


tions,  and  long  Cannon  Gate,  at  the  end  of  which  stand  the  ruins  of  Holyrood  Abbey, 
with  the  palace  beyond, 

"  A  deserted  palace  where  no  monarch  dwells  !  " 

The  grand  old  pile,  once  the  home  of  the  Scottish  kings  and  the  fair,  unfortunate 
Marie  Stuart,  stands  almost  the  same  as  when  the  beautiful  queen  lived  here  ;  it  is  a 
museum  palace  now,  although  the 
royal  apartments  are  occasionally 
occupied.  The  Queen's  Park  lies 
around  the  Palace,  and  to  the  south- 
ward "  the  high  belt  of  semi-circular 
rocks  called  Salisbury  Crags,"  rises 
"by  knoll  and  rocky  bulwark  and 
precipitous  slope  to  the  top  of 
Arthur's  Seat."  On  this  great  hill  the 
grandly  rugged  Crags  are  toward  the 
west,  and  the  fabled  knoll  of  Arthur's 
Seat  is  on  the  south,  towering  over 
eight  hundred  feet  above  the  Firth  of 
Forth — on  which  the  port  of  the  city 
stands.  The  Queen's  Drive  round 
the  hill  and  the  rifle  ranges  in  the 
valley  have  carried  every-day  life  and 
society  to  the  spot  now  ;  but  for  ages 
it  stood  in  the  grandest  solitude 
almost  in  the  midst  of  the  "  busy  and 
stormy  capital."  Sir  Walter  Scott* 
whose  beautiful  monument  is  on 
"  merry  Princes  Street  "  in  the  New 
Town,  used  to  wander  over  this 
lonely  spot,  and  loved  "  that  wild 
path  winding  around  the  foot,"  and 
the  view  from  the  heights  above 
"  commanding  a  close-built,  high-piled  city,  stretching  itself  out  in  a  form  like  a  dragon." 
Sublime  he  called  it ;  and  full  of  sublime  associations  he  and  others  have  left  it  for  us. 
The  heart  of  Old  Edinburgh,  where  John  Knox  and  Cromwell,  David  Hume,  Boswell,  Dr. 
Johnson  and  hundreds  of  other  great  men  and  women  lived,  lies  directly  between  the  Salis- 
bury Crags  and  the  Castle.  In  the  midst  of  the  dense  labyrinth  rise  the  stately  old 
college  and  university  buildings,  among  the  most  famous  in  Europe,  and  the  Royal 


ROYAL    EXCHANGE,    EDINBURGH. 


Cities  of  the  World. 


Infirmary  and  the  extensive  Industrial  Museum.  Above,  on  High  Street,  are  the  long 
and  picturesque  Parliament  House,  Union  Bank,  Sheriff's  Court  House,  Signet  Library 
and  County  Hall,  all  dominated  by  the  lofty  spire  and  beautiful  Gothic  walls  of  St. 
Giles  Cathedral.  This  is  the  view  of  "  Stately  Edinburgh,  throned  on  crags."  "  Beautiful 
exceedingly,  in  the  gray  morning,  in  the  garish  noon-day,  and  in  the  golden  evening, 
*  *  *  sublime  in  the  summer  afternoon  ;  and  grandly  solemn  by  night  when  the 
enormous  masses  of  buildings  are  illuminated  by  countless  lamps  that  only  make  the 
darkness  visible."  When  the  moon  is  up,  its  slender  spires  and  Gothic  towers  are 
transformed  into  long  streaks  of  silver  light  rising  here  and  there  out  of  oceans  of 

massive  shadow,  while  clear  and  bold  against  the  sky 
the  venerable  castle  of  strength  broods  over  all.  In 
whatever  light  and  at  any  point  the  vision  of  this 
acropolis  is  the  most  alluring  sight  of  all.  On  all 
sides  but  one  the  rock  is  bare  and  rises  almost  per- 
pendicular out  of  the  town,  with  the  great  buttresses 
and  stone  parapets,  the  walls,  batteries  and  massive 
round  tower  of  the  castle  occupying  the  highest  plat- 
form. Mons  Megs  and  its  celebrated  artillery  com- 
mand a  height  almost  four  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea.  "  Frowning  like  the  brow  of  some  colossal  Gor- 
don," some  one  says  ;  but  to  me  it  seems  like  a 
grave  but  tender  guardian,  preserving  the  regalia  and 
great  relics  of  the  kingdom,  while  keeping  watch  guard 
over  all  its  capital. 

In   the    view   from    the    Castle,    "  half    Scotland 
stretches  around  ;  on  the  south,  the  blue  bulk  of  the 
Pentland    Hills  ;    on   the    north,    the    green,  gnarled, 
round-headed  Ochils,  with  the  Firth  flowing  between  ; 
BANK  OF  SCOTLAND,  EDINBURGH,   and  on  the  extreme  far  north-west,  the  hills  of  Rob 

Roy's  country,  Ben  Lomond,  Ben  Ledi,  Ben  Voirlich, 

and  the  rest,  lifting  up  their  kingly  foreheads  ;  seaward  are  Inchkeith,  the  Bass,  North 
Berwick,  Law  and  the  Leith  ;  eastward,  the  Lion  of  Arthur's  Seat  and  Salisbury  Crags," 
while  close  below  the  solid  limestone  of  man's  rearing,  in  Edinburgh,  old  and  new. 

Much  of  Edinburgh's  wealth  comes  from  its  banks  and  insurance  offices  ;  but,  except- 
ing the  distilleries,  ale  and  beer  breweries,  many  of  which  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Holyrood — 
printing  and  book  publishing  houses,  and  manufacturing  of  coaches,  India-rubber  articles 
and  a  few  other  things,  the  city  is  quite  unimportant  in  industries  ;  it  is  famous  for  literary, 
artistic,  scientific,  law  and  medical  institutions  and  associations,  and  its  good  society. 
Many  of  the  Scottish  landed  gentry  have  fine  residences  here.  There  are  about  two 


Glasgow. 


193 


hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  living  in  it, 
while  in  Glasgow  there  are  more  than  twice  as 
many,  or  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand. 
The  port  of  the  river  Clyde,  the  city  encircled  by 
hills  and  uplands  with  its  shipping,  its  tall  chim- 
neys and  two  million  spindles,  is  strikingly  a  city 
of  the  present. 

The  old  part  of  the  town  is  level  and  lies 
along  the  river  banks,  but  in  the  last  seventy  years 
it  has  increased  to  five  times  its  former  size,  and 
now  stretches  up  to  the  rolling  ground  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  valley.  This  immense 
growth  is  due  to  the  Clyde,  which  connects  the 
city  with  a  world-wide  commerce,  especially  for 
the  vast  quantities  of  iron  and  coal  abounding  in 
the  adjacent  districts.  It  is  a  well-built  and  health- 


A    FAMILIAR    BIT    OF    EDINBURGH 
WEATHER. 


GLASGOW. 


194  Cities  of  the  World. 

fully  managed  place,  although  acres  upon  acres  are  occupied  by  manufactories 
necessarily  dirty  and  even  noxious.  There  are  many  fine  streets  and  noble  buildings 
entirely  devoted  to  business  and  always  densely  packed  with  busy  people.  There  is  the 
Cathedral,  which  was  built  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  even  compared  wifh  all  the 
grandeur  of  Gothic  Edinburgh  is  said  to  be  the  finest  church  of  that  architecture  in 
Scotland.  The  University,  too,  is  a  celebrated  place,  with  its  twelve  hundred  students 
and  ancient  buildings,  founded  in  1443.  Glasgow  impresses  you  as  an  enterprising, 
thrifty  town  ;  the  fame  of  its  great  docks  and  noble  river,  its  large  trade  and  enormous 
manufactories  have  spread  all  over  the  world  ;  part  of  its  wealth  is  seen  in  commodious 
docks,  warehouses  and  places  of  business,  in  comfortable  homes,  good  schools  and 
institutions,  and  pleasant  park  and  pleasure  grounds.  Thousands  of  chimneys  rear  their 
heads  above  the  roofs  of  cotton  mills,  glass-works,  paper-mills,  dye-works  and  engine- 
factories,  but  all  are  distanced  by  the  smoke-stack  of  the  St.  Rollox  chemical  works  ; 
these  are  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  this  chimney  is  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high, 
as  tall  as  the  great  pyramid  of  Egypt.  The  ship-yards  and  steamer  factories  of  Glasgow 
are  GO  celebrated  that  the  name  of  "  Clyde "  is  often  used  for  any  great  ship-yard, 
especially  where  iron  vessels  are  made.  Nearly  all  of  the  coarse  linen  of  Great  Britain 
comes  from  Dundee,  which  is  a  city  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  no 
larger  than  the  coal  city  of  Newcastle  in  England.  It  stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
broad  Tay,  ten  miles  from  the  North  Sea.  It  has  some  splendid  quays  and  many 
buildings  that  surpass  those  in  larger  cities,  and  its  schools,  public  parks,  charitable 
homes  and  hospitals  show  how  good  hearted  and  public  spirited  the  people  are.  About 
the  only  important  jute  factories'  in  the  world  are  here,  and  form  the  cheapest  textile 
fabrics  made  in  Great  Britain.  The  dry  plants  are  imported  from  India  and  made  into 
a  great  many  things,  from  the  coarsest  kinds  of  bagging  and  sacking  to  very  fine  and 
beautiful  carpets. 

The  fourth  city  of  Scotland  is  Aberdeen,  which  has  about  as  many  people  as  there 
are  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  or  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand.  This  is  the  chief 
city  and  seaport  of  northern  Scotland,  a  thriving  and  progressive  place,  doing  much  for 
the  importance  and  benefit  of  its  own  people,  and  a  large  manufacturing  and  shipping 
trade  for  the  world  at  large.  Almost  every  little  English  and  American  girl  has  worn  a 
"  round  "  comb  made  in  Aberdeen,  and  many  of  you  have  also  seen  or  heard  of  its  great 
linen  mills.  Our  very  best  table-cloths  and  napkins  come  from  here,  and  almost  every 
Scotch  lad  has  had  his  plaid  and  lassie  her  frock  from  the  woollen  mills  along  the  river  Dee. 
Paper,  polished  granite,  cattle,  grains,  and  preserved  provisions  and  fish  are  also  exported 
in  large  quantities.  The  old  town,  which  was  a  royal  burgh  in  the  twelfth  century,  was 
mostly  burned  in  1336,  and  lies  on  the  banks  of  the  Don,  about  a  mile  above  the  present 
city,  which  was  built  up  soon  after  the  burning  and  called  New  Aberdeen.  The  oldest 
part  of  the  celebrated  University  of  Aberdeen  is  in  the  old  town. 


SPAIN. 

THE  principal  cities  of  Spain  are  the  capitals  of  the  sixteen  kingdoms  and  principali- 
ties, which,  when  first  united,  formed  the  great  Spanish  monarchy  under  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella.  Each  of  these  principalities  has  kept  a  certain  independence  and  char- 
acteristics of  its  own  to  this  day,  although  the  country  is  now  divided  into  new  depart- 
ments, and  instead  of  the  old  historic  names,  each  is  known  from  the  name  of  its  capital. 
Madrid  is  nearly  in  the  center  of  the  country,  on  the  side  of  the  almost  waterless  River 
Manzanares.  The  site  was  chosen  for  the  capital  by  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  whose 
gouty  limbs  were  more  comfortable  here  than  in  the  old  capital  of  Valladolid,  but  none 
of  his  successors  have  been  able  to  see  any  natural  charms  in  the  ill-situated  and  un- 
healthy city.  For  these,  and  many  more  disadvantages,  gouty  and  phlegmatic,  Charles 
has  been  held  solely  accountable  during  almost  three  centuries.  Nevertheless,  Madrid 
has  become  a  great  city  of  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  people  now,  and  to  every  true 
Spaniard  it  has  no  equal  in  all  the  world.  It  is  of  circular  shape,  with  a  low  wall  hedging 
it  in  from  the  dry  hilly  and  barren  plateau  which  surrounds  it.  The  center  of  the  city, 
where  strangers — free  at  last  from  the  confusion  of  porters,  guides,  hackmen,  guards  and 
boys  that  welcomed  them  at  the  stations — draw  their  first  breath  and  take  their  first  inde- 
pendent view  of  the  Spanish  capital,  is  the  Puerto,  del  So/,  or  the  Gate  of  the  Sun.  "  It 
is  a  stupendous  sight,  an  immense  semi-circular  square,  surrounded  by  high  buildings, 
into  which  open,  like  ten  torrents,  ten  great  streets,  and  from  every  street  comes  a  con- 
tinuous, noisy  wave  of  people  and  carriages,  and  every  thing  seen  there  is  in  proportion 
to  the  locality.  The  sidewalks  are  as  wide  as  streets,  the  cafes  large  as  squares,  the 
basins  of  a  fountain  the  size  of  a  lake  ;  and  on  every  side  there  is  a  dense  and  mobile 
crowd,  a  deafening  racket,  an  indescribable  gayety  and  brightness  in  the  features,  ges- 
tures, and  colors,  which  makes  you  feel  that  neither  the  populace  nor  the  city  are 
strangers  to  you."  As  you  go  about  there  are  "  no  great  palaces  nor  ancient  monu- 
ments of  art ;  but  there  are  wide,  clean,  gay  streets  flanked  by  houses,  painted  in  livid 
colors,  broken  here  and  there  by  squares  of  a  thousand  different  forms,  laid  out  almost 
at  random,  and  every  square  contains  a  garden,  fountain, and  statuettes.  Some  streets 
have  a  slight  ascent,"  so  that  you  see  the  sky  in  the  distance,  as  through  a  vista.  The 
walls  are  covered  for  some  distance  with  play  bills  ;  in  the  shops  and  on  every  side 
there  is  an  incessant  coming  and  going  ;  the  cafe's,  too,  are  crowded.  There  are  some 
very  splendid  cafes  in  the  Gate  of  the  Sun,  where  the  Moorish  custom  of  calling  waiters 
by  two  claps  of  the  hands  is  kept  up.  Those  who  can  afford  it  sip  beer  and  wines  ;  but 
the  lower  classes  "  sit  down  contentedly  for  a  whole  evening  to  a  glass  of  azucarillo,  a 


196 


Cities  of  the   World. 


kind  of  sugared  water,  or  to  a  snow  lemonade.  Another  esteemed  cooling  beverage  is 
a  kind  of  cream  made  from  pounded  cypress  root  and  then  half  frozen.  The  height  of 
luxury  is  to  order  with  this,  at  an  added  cost  of  some  two  cents,  a  few  tubular  wafers — 

fancifully  named  barquil- 

los,  or  little  boats—through 
which  the  half-liquid  re- 
freshment is  sucked." 
You  see  the  plain  Euro- 
pean dress  everywhere  in 
place  of  the  bright  pictur- 
esque national  garments 
of  other  days,  except 
among  the  peasants  ;  but 
all  provinces  are  repre- 
sented in  the  capital  in 
greater  or  less  numbers, 
and  perhaps  the  gay, 
fantastic  costumes  of  the 
various  localities  are  more 
picturesque  than  ever 
among  the  plainer  clothes 
that  modern  fashion  has 
given  almost  half  the 
city-living  world  to  wear. 
Churches  "  smeared  with 
gold  and  stucco  and  paint 
in  tasteless  extravagance  " 
are  very  numerous  and 
nearly  all  devoted  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion. 
Other  buildings  and  many 
of  the  entire  streets 
through  the  middle  and 
on  the  edges  of  the  city 
look  like  Paris  ;  portions 
STATUE  OF  PHILIP  iv.,  MADRID.  have  a  resemblance  to  Bos- 

ton, Massachusetts,  and  bordering  upon  these  parts  there  are  narrow  ways  and 
much  of  the  old  Spanish  architecture  to  be  seen.  One  of  the  broad  streets  run- 
ning toward  the  southern  outskirts  is  the  Calle  de  Toledo,  or  Toledo  street,  "  an 


BULL    FIGHTING. 


198  Cities  of  the   World. 

old  meandering  mart  full  of  mantles  and  sashes,  blankets,  guitars,  flannel  dyed 
in  the  national  colors  of  red  and  yellow,  basket  work  and  wood  work,  including 
the  carved  sticks  known  as  molinillos — little  mills — with  which  the  beverage  of 
chocolate  is  mixed."  The  donkey  is  at  home  in  the  narrow  thoroughfares  about  here, 
and  the  stifling  odors,  which  in  the  finer  streets  are  somewhat  scattered  on  the  air,  are 
here  gathered  in  full  force,  especially  in  the  dingy,  unconventional  and  attractive  little 
cafes.  On  the  western  side  of  the  city  several  thoroughfares  come  together  at  the 
Square  of  the  Orient,  where  arises  the  monument  of  Philip  IV.  in  the  midst  of  a 
garden  surrounded  by  thirty  colossal  statues.  Here  are  the  Naval  Museum,  the  Theatre 
— or  theater — Real,  the  Royal  Stables,  and,  more  prominent  than  all,  the  Royal  Palace 
with  adjoining  buildings  of  state  and  the  royal  collections  ;  between  this  grand  pile  and 
the  river  lie  the  Gardens  of  Moro,  where  the  king  usually  takes  his  morning  walk.  The 
park  of  the  city,  the  Madrid  Park,  is  on  the  other  side  of  town,  lying  along  the  eastern 
outskirts,  while  the  favorite  promenade  of  the  people,  the  Prado,  lies  between.  It  is 
reached  through  the  street  Alcala,  which  is  so  wide  that  it  seems  almost  like  a  rectangular 
square,  dividing  Madrid  in  half  ;  it  runs  from  the  Puerto,  del  Sol  toward  the  east,  and  ends 
in  an  immense  plain,  that  extends  all  along  the  side  of  the  city  and  contains  gardens, 
walks,  squares,  theaters,  bull-circuses,  triumphal  arches,  museums,  small  palaces,  and 
fountains.  The  Prado  is  a  very  broad  avenue,  not  very  long,  flanked  by  minor  avenues, 
which  extend  to  the  east  of  the  city,  at  one  side  of  the  famous  garden  of  the  Buen  retiro, 
and  is  shut  in  at  the  two  extremities  by  two  enormous  stone  fountains  ;  it  is  hedged  in  on 
the  sides  by  thousands  of  chairs  and  hundreds  of  benches  belonging  to  water  and  orange- 
venders,  a  class  of  people  that  seem  to  make  up  a  large  portion  of  the  population.  The 
most  frequented  part  of  the  Prado  is  called  the  Salon  del  Prado.  At  the  fashionable 
hour  it  looks  like  a  gay  festival.  The  upper  northern  continuation  is  called  the  prome- 
nade of  Recoletos.  This  runs  between  a  very  long  chain  of  little  palaces,  villas, 
theaters  and  new  buildings  painted  in  bright  colors,  on  the  left,  while  opposite  nearly 
two  miles  of  country  places  make  up  the  "  smiling  suburb  of  Salamanca." 

As  regards  promenades,  theaters  and  shows,  Madrid  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the 
first  cities  in  the  world.  There  are  operas,  comedies  of  all  grades,  from  the  elegant 
and  aristocratic  to  the  poorest  and  commonest ;  all  are  crowded.  The  most  celebrated 
singers  in  the  world  make  every  effort  to  sing  at  the  capital  of  Spain  ;  the  artists  there 
are  sought  after  and  feted  ;  the  passion  for  music  is  the  only  one  which  equals  that  for 
bull-fights,  which  is  the  supreme,  the  national  pastime  of  Spain.  It  is  patronized  by  all, 
from  the  king  to  the  poorest  vender,  and  the  espadas  or  matadores — the  bull-fighters — are 
looked  upon  with  admiration  that  from  the  warm-blooded  Spanish  nature  is  almost  equal 
to  idolatry  in  our  eyes.  "  In  every  crowd  and  cafe  you  see  the  tall,  shapely,  dark-faced, 
silent  men,  with  a  cool,  professionally  murderous  look,  whose  enormously  wide  black  hats, 
short  jackets,  tight  trowsers  and  pig-tails  of  braided  hair  proclaim  them  chulos,  or  mem- 


Madrid. 


199 


bers  of  the  noble  ring.  Intrepid,  with  muscles  of  steel  and  finely  formed,  the  higher 
class  of  these  professional  fighters  are  the  idols  of  the  people.  Songs  are  made  about 
them,  their  deeds  are  painted  on  fans  and  people  crowd  around  to  see  them  in  hotels  or 
on  the  streets  as  if  they  were  heroes  or  star  tragedians."  Madrid  is  the  seat  of  the  bull- 
fighting art,  and  the  circus  here  is  the  foremost  of  all  places  for  the  contests.  The  season 


NATIONAL   DANCE. 

is  opened  in  the  spring  and  lasts  till  fall.  The  opening  day  of  the  bull-fights 
is  said  to  be  regarded  as  a  far  more  important  occasion  than  a  change  in  the 
ministry  of  the  government.  The  Bull  Ring  lies  in  the  west  of  Madrid,  and  when 
the  long-looked-for  inauguration  day  arrives,  people  begin  moving  toward  the  spot  fully 
three  hours  before  the  appointed  time.  The  route  is  lined  for  a  mile  with  omnibuses, 


2OO  Cities  of  the    World. 

tartanas,  broken-down  diligences  and  wheezy  cabs  moving  along  with  files  of  pedestrians 
and  the  showy  turn-outs  of  the  rich,  all  finally  getting  into  one  great  mass  rushing  to  the 
scene  of  action.  "  The  mule-bells  ring,  whips  crack,  the  drivers  shout  wildly  as  the 
vehicles  dash  by  windows  full  of  on-lookers,  by  the  foaming  fountains  of  the  Prado  and 
up  the  road  to  the  grim  Colosseum  of  stone  and  brick,  set  in  the  midst  of  scorched  and 
arid  fields."  The  great  ring  within  is  surrounded  by  a  vast  amphitheater  of  terraced 
granite,  around  the  top  of  which  runs  a  gallery  whose  roof  is  supported  by  slender  col- 
umns. The  circus  holds  at  least  ten  thousand  people,  and  is  divided  into  two  parts  : 
one  is  sunny,  the  other  in  the  shade.  The  rich  and  aristocratic  sit  in  shady  seats  and  the 
boxes  below  the  gallery,  which  cost  more  than  the  sunny  seats,  where  the  common  people 
sit  in  a  fantastic  assemblage,  with  their  gay  dress  and  paper  fans  and  parasols  of  red, 
yellow,  purple  and  green.  But  the  great  and  all-absorbing  sight,  as  soon  as  the  trumpets 
announce  the  grand  entry,  is  in  the  arena,  and  there  only.  The  colors  of  the  fighters' 
costumes  ;  the  bulls,  and  then  the  dash  of  the  mad  animals  and  the  maneuvering  of  both 
bulls  and  espadas ;  the  skill  and  the  suspense,  and  the  thrilling  horror  or  depraved 
delight,  these  are  the  fight  itself,  which  an  artist  with  colors  and  canvas  can  partly  pic- 
ture, but  where  words  alone  entirely  fail. 

Barcelona,  with  only  the  Pyrenees  above  and  the  narrow  arm  of  the  Mediterranean 
on  the  east  to  separate  it  from  France,  is  rather  a  seaport  for  French  trade  than  a  gen- 
uinely Spanish  city.  "  In  appearance  it  is  the  least  Spanish  city  of  any  place  in  Spain. 
There  are  large  buildings,  of  which  few  are  old  ;  long  streets,  regular  squares,  shops, 
theaters,  great  superb  cafes,  an/i  a  continuous  coming  and  going  of  people,  carriages 
and  carts  from  the  shore  of  the  sea  to  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  from  here  to  the  distant 
quarters.  A  broad,  straight  street,  called  the  Rambla,  shaded  by  two  rows  of  trees, 
crosses  nearly  the  entire  city  from  the  harbor  up.  A  spacious  promenade,  lined  with 
new  houses,  extends  along  the  sea-shore  on  a  high  walled  dyke,  in  the  shape  of  a  terrace, 
against  which  the  waves  dash  ;  an  immense  suburb,  almost  a  new  city,  stretches  along  the 
north,  and  on  every  side  new  houses  break  the  old  boundary  lines,  are  scattered  over  the 
fields,  on  the  hillsides,  and  extend  in  interminable  lines  as  far  as  the  neighboring  villages. 
On  all  the  surrounding  heights  rise  villas,  little  palaces  and  factories,  which  appear 
one  behind  the  other  until  they  form  a  wreath  around  the  city.  On  every  side  there  is 
transforming  and  renovating  and  manufacturing — mainly  machinery  for  ship-building  and 
all  kinds  of  iron  work.  The  people  work  and  prosper  and  Barcelona  flourishes."  The 
greatest  architectural  sight  in  the  city  is  the  Gothic  Cathedral,  with  bold  towers,  splendid 
jewel-like  stained  glass  windows  ;  and  the  greatest  living  show  is  the  Carnival.  When  this  is 
in  progress  "  the  streets  are  traversed  by  long  processions,  and  giants,  princes,  Moors,  war- 
riors, and  a  troop  of  figures  dressed  in  yellow  with  a  long  cane  in  their  hands,  at  the  top 
of  which  is  tied  a  purse  that  they  poke  under  every  one's  nose,  into  all  the  shop  win- 
dows, even  up  to  the  balconies  of  the  first  floors  of  the  houses,  asking  for  alms."  One  of 


Barcelona. 


201 


the  most  curious  things  in  the  Carnival  is  the  masquerade  of  the  children.  "  It  is  the 
custom  to  dress  the  boys  under  eight,  some  as  men,  in  the  French  style,  in  complete 
evening  dress,  with  white  gloves,  great  mustaches  and  long  hair  ;  some  as  grandees  of 
Spain,  covered  with  ribbons  and  trinkets  ;  others  as  Catalan  peasants,  with  cap  and  man- 
tle ;  the  girls  as  court  ladies,  amazons,  poetesses,  with  the  lyre  and  crown  of  laurel,  and 
both,  too,  in  the  costumes  of  the  various  provinces  of  the  state  ;  some  as  flower  girls  of 


MALAGA — PORT,    QUAY,    AND    CATHEDRAL. 

Valencia,  some  as  Andalusian  gypsies,  others  as  Basque  mountaineers,  altogether  the 
oddest  and  most  picturesque  dresses  that  can  be  imagined."  Barcelona  lacks  great 
buildings  of  interest  ;  there  are  a  few  historic  palaces  ;  "  several  enormous  Roman  col- 
umns in  the  Street  of  Paradise  stand  in  the  midst  of  modern  houses,  surrounded  by  tor- 
tuous staircases  and  dark  rooms  ;  but  there  are  beauty  and  diversion  in  the  fountains 


2O2  Cities  of  the   World. 

with  rostral  columns,  pyramids,  statues  ;  boulevards  lined  with  villas,  gardens,  cafe's, 
hotels  ;  a  bull  circus  capable  of  holding  ten  thousand  spectators  ;  a  suburb  which  extends 
along  a  promontory  that  shuts  in  the  harbor,  built  with  the  symmetry  of  a  chess-board 
and  inhabited  by  ten  thousand  sailors  ;  many  libraries  ;  a  very  rich  museum  of  natural 
history  and  a  building  containing  archives,  in  which  there  is  a  very  large  collection  of 
historical  papers  relating  to  Spain  from  the  ninth  century  to  the  present  day,  that  is, 
from  the  first  Counts  of  Catalonia  to  the  War  of  Independence." 

"  The  cafes  of  Barcelona,  like  almost  all  the  cafes  of  Spain,  consist  of  one  immense 
saloon,  ornamented  with  great  mirrors  and  as  many  tables  as  it  will  hold,  of  which  one 
rarely  remains  empty  for  a  single  half  hour  during  the  day.  In  the  evening  they  are  so 
crowded  that  one  is  often  forced  to  wait  quite  a  time  in  order  to  procure  even  a  little 
place  near  the  door.  Around  every  table  there  is  a  circle  of  five  or  six  caballeros,  with 
the  capa  over  their  shoulders  (this  is  a  mantle  of  dark  cloth,  furnished  with  a  large 
hood),  and  in  every  circle  they  are  playing  dominoes.  It  is  the  favorite  game  of  the 
Spanish.  In  the  cafes  from  twilight  you  hear  the  dull,  continuous,  deafening  sound,  like 
the  noise  of  hailstones,  from  thousands  of  markers,  turned  and  returned  by  hundreds  of 
hands,  so  that  you  would  be  obliged  to  raise  your  voice  in  order  to  make  yourself  heard 
by  the  person  sitting  near  you.  People  drink  chocolate,  most  delicious  in  Spain,  generally 
served  in  little  cups  ;  it  is  thick  almost  like  preserves,  and  hot  enough  to  burn  one's 
throat."  Altogether  this  un-Spanish,  flourishing  city  of  Spain,  with  its  mixed  population 
of  three  hundred  thousand  people,  is  very  attractive,  and  Don  Alvares  Tarfe — in  Don 
Quixote — is  not  the  only  visitor*  who  had  left  it  with  the  heartfelt  words  on  his  lips  : 
"  Farewell,  Barcelona,  the  home  of  courtesy,  refuge  for  strangers,  country  of  the  valiant, 
farewell." 

The  second  seaport  and  third  city  of  Spain  is  Malaga,  which  has  impressed  many 
travelers  as  a  grand  sight  from  the  port.  It  lies  up  from  the  shore,  outlined  against 
wild  and  rocky  mountains  on  the  right.  On  the  slope,  below  the  blackened  ruins  of  the 
Castle  of  Gibralfaro,  the  cathedral  rises  majestically  above  all  the  surrounding  build- 
ings, with  two  beautiful  towers  and  a  very  high  belfry  pointing  toward  heaven,  while  a 
multitude  of  smoky  houses,  one  above  the  other,  seem  to  have  been  placed  at  random 
between.  "  On  the  left  of  the  cathedral,  along  the  shore,  is  a  row  of  houses,  ash,  violet 
and  yellowish  in  color,  with  a  white  line  around  the  windows  and  doors.  Beyond  lies  a 
garland  of  green  and  reddish  hills  that  inclose  the  city  like  walls  of  an  amphitheater  ;  on 
the  right  and  left,  along  the  sea-shore,  are  other  mountains,  hills  and  rocks,  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach.  The  interior  of  the  city  contains  very  little  of  note.  The  new  part, 
occupying  the  space  formerly  covered  by  the  sea,  is  built  with  broad  straight  streets  and 
great  bare  houses  ;  the  rest  of  the  city  is  a  labyrinth  of  tortuous  streets  and  a  conglom- 
eration of  houses  without  color  or  without  grace.  There  are  spacious  squares,  with 
gardens  and  fountains,  some  columns  and  arches  of  Arabian  edifices,  but  no  modern 


Valencia.  203 

monuments,  much  filth  and  not  many  people,"  though  the  population  is  said  to  be  about 
the  same  as  Valencia, — a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

Valencia  is  below  Barcelona,  following  the  coast  line  to  the  southward,  and  is  the 
capital  of  the  fertile  and  beautiful  Kingdom  of  Valencia.  By  land  it  is  reached  through 
"  gardens,  vineyards,  thick  groves  of  orange  trees,  white  villas  surmounted  by  terraces, 
gay  villages,  all  painted  in  bright  colors,  in  groups  and  rows  ;  thickets  of  palms,  pome- 
granates, aloes  and  sugar  cane,  endless  hedges  of  Indian  figs,  long  chains  of  hills,  cone- 
shaped  heights,  converted  into  kitchen,  flower-gardens  and  swards.  Everywhere,  in  fact, 
there  is  a  luxurious  vegetation,  which  covers  every  vacancy,  overtops  every  height, 
clothes  each  projection,  rises,  waves,  sweeps  along,  crowds  together,  interlaces,  impedes 
the  views,  shuts  in  the  roads,  dazzles  you  with  green,  and  wearies  you  with  beauty.  * 
The  first  building  you  see  upon  entering  Valencia  is  an  immense  bull  circus,  formed  by 
four  rows  of  arches,  one  above  the  other,  supported  by  large  pilasters,  built  of  brick  and 
resembling  in  the  distance  the  Colosseum  at  Rome.  The  city  is  built  on  a  vast  and 
arid  plain  on  the  bank  of  the  Guadalquiver,  which  separates  it  from  its  suburbs,  a  short 
distance  from  the  bay,-  which  serves  as  a  harbor  ;  it  is  all  tortuous  streets,  flanked  by 
high,  ugly  and  many  colored  houses.  On  the  left  bank  there  is  an  immense  promenade 
formed  by  majestic  avenues  and  beautiful  gardens,  which  are  reached  by  leaving  the  city 
through  the  gate  of  the  Cid,  flanked  by  two  great  embattled  towers,  and  named  after  the 
great  Spanish  hero,  because  he  passed  through  it  in  1904,  after  having  driven  the  Arabs 
from  Valencia."  Besides  the  cathedral,  which  has  many  historical  associations,  but  is  not 
very  fine,  there  are  several  places  worth  seeing, — beautiful  palaces,  where  great  events  in 
the  history  of  the  kingdom  have  occurred  ;  but  above  all  is  the  Lonja,  or  merchants' 
exchange,  where  there  is  a  famous  room,  formed  by  three  great  naves,  divided  by 
twenty-four  twisted  columns,  over  which  curve  the  light  arches  of  the  ceiling.  Val- 
encia alive  and  gay  must  be  seen  during  the  annual  festival ;  then  it  is  bright,  gay, 
spirited  and  busy.  Amusements  of  all  kinds  are  held  at  all  hours  ;  and  trade  is  at  its 
briskest  pace.  You  should  see  the  shops  and  the  people  then  in  the  Mercado,  "  that 
quaint  business  street,  crowded  with  little  stalls  and  with  peasants  in  blue,  red,  yellow, 
mantled  and  cothurned,  their  heads  topped  with  pointed  hats  or  variegated  handkerchiefs 
deftly  knotted  into  a  high  crown  ; "  or  in  "  those  peculiar  shops  behind  the  antique  Silk 
Exchange,  which  are  named  from  signs  they  hang  out,  representing  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
Christ,  John  the  Baptist,  or  the  Bleeding  Heart.  One  had  for  its  device  a  rose,  and 
another,  distinguished  by  two  large  toy  lambs  placed  at  its  door,  was  known  as  the  Lambs 
of  God." 

"  The  most  beautiful  thing  to  be  seen  at  Valencia  is  the  market.  The  Valen- 
cia peasants  are  more  strangely  and  artistically  dressed  than  any  in  Spain.  They 
have  the  air  of  Greeks,  bedouins,  jugglers  or  rope-dancers,  in  their  ordinary  best  clothes. 
They  wear  a  full  white  shirt  in  the  place  of  a  jacket,  a  variegated  velvet  waistcoat,  open 


204  Cities  of  the    World. 

at  the  chest,  a  pair  of  trowsers  like  those  of  the  zouaves,  which  only  come  to  the  knee, 
and  stand  out  like  full  shirts  ;  a  red  or  blue  sash  around  the  waist,  a  kind  of  white  em- 
broidered woollen  leggings,  which  show  the  bare  knee,  and  a  pair  of  rope  sandals  like  the 
Catalan  peasants.  As  a  covering  for  the  head,  which  is  shaved  almost  like  the  Chinese, 
they  wear  a  red,  blue,  yellow  or  white  handkerchief,  twisted  in  the  shape  of  a  cartridge, 
and  knotted  on  the  temple  or  nape  of  the  neck.  Upon  this  they  place  a  little  velvet  hat. 
When  they  go  to  town  they  generally  carry  over  their  shoulders  or  arms,  sometimes  in 
the  shape  of  a  shawl,  mantle  or  scarf,  a  woolen  capa,  long  and  narrow  with  bright  colored 
stripes — usually  white  and  red — and  ornamented  with  tufts  of  fringe  and  rosettes. 
A  city  square,  where  hundreds  of  men  dressed  like  this  are  gathered,  is  like  a  carnival 
scene." 

In  the  more  modern  quarters,  the  shops  are  after  the  model  Paris  sets.  Their 
articles  are  prettily  arranged,  and  the  window  curtains  are  very  cleverly  painted  with 
figures  and  scenes,  some  of  them  being  quite  funny.  Altogether,  Valencia  is  the 
cheeriest  of  Spanish  cities — except  Barcelona,  which  is  half  French — and  has  besides  a 
good  many  sights  peculiarly  its  own.  The  Street  of  the  Cavaliers  is  lined  with  somber, 
strange,  shabbily  elegant  old  mansions  of  the  nobility,  with  Gothic  windows  and  open 
arcades  in  the  top  story.  The  new  houses  are  gayly  tinted  in  blue  and  rose  and  cream- 
color  ;  and  the  gourd-like  domes  of  the  cathedral  and  other  large  buildings  glisten  with 
blue  tiles  and  white,  set  in  stripes.  A  broad  boulevard,  hedged  in  with  sycamore  trees, 
leads  to  Grao,  the  port,  which  is  two  miles  distant.  In  summer  this  is  crowded  with 
tartanas — bouncing  little  covered  wagons,  lined  with  crimson  curtains,  usually  filled  with 
pretty  senoritas — young  Spanish  ladies — and  with  more  imposing  equipages,  adorned  with 
footmen  in  the  English  style.  Every  body  goes  to  the  shore  to  bathe  toward  evening. 
The  little  bathing  establishments  extend  for  a  long  distance  on  the  sands,  and  are  very 
neat.  Between  them  and  the  water  are  refreshment  sheds  and  tables,  and  every  one  eats 
or  drinks  on  coming  out  of  the  sea  ;  after  that  the  whole  concourse  returns  again  to  the 
city,  to  sleep  away  the  short  summer  night,  and  loll  away  the  long  day,  till  it  is  time  to 
come  again. 

Of  all  the  races  of  Spain  the  finest,  the  handsomest  and  the  most  attractive  in  every 
way  is  the  Andalusian  ;  and  Seville,  their  capital,  is  a  city  famous  in  Doetry  and  song. 
The  place  itself  is  modest  enough,  but  here  every  body  is  satisfied  with  life,  and  if  once 
you  should  live  in  it,  you  would  feel  something  of  the  same  affection  as  the  Spaniards  for 
this  "  Queen  of  Andalusia."  It  is  the  quaint,  interesting  town  of  Cordova,  enlarged, 
beautified  and  enriched,  with  the  same  spotless  whiteness — though  not  so  very  white  as 
Cadiz — the  same  intricate  network  of  small  streets,  with  the  scattered  odor  of  oranges 
and  lovely  air  of  mystery  and  oriental  appearance.  Beside  the  modest  white  houses  rise 
sumptuous  marble  palaces,  differing  in  luxury  and  size,  but  often  on  the  same  plan,  each 
window  with  a  balcony,  and  all  with  the  patio  in  the  center.  "  The  passage  and  windows 


Seville. 


205 


of  the  court  correspond  with  the  front  windows,  so  that  the  passer-by  looks  into  the  very 
heart  of  a  genuine  Seville  abode,  as  through  a  sort  of  lantern."  The  patio  is  seldom 
larger  than  an  ordinary  room,  surrounded  by  shady  cloisters,  containing  the  summer 
apartments  of  the  family,  or  several  households,  as  there  are  sometimes  in  one  house. 
"  Even  the  poorest  dwelling  has  its  airy  court,  set  with  shrubs,  and  perhaps  provided 
with  water.  They  are  tiled,  or  paved  in  marble,  as  most  rooms  are  in  Spain.  The  well- 
to-do  people  protect  them  from  the  open  vestibule  by  gates  of  ornamental  open  iron." 
Jets  of  water  play  in  the  center,  and  all  around  are  flowers,  pictures  and  statuary,  while 


SEVILLE. 

above,  an  awning  is  stretched  across  to  keep  off  the  sun.  At  night  the  doors  are  left  open, 
and  the  moonlight,  the  odor  of  roses,  and  the  splashing  sounds  of  water  extend  into  the 
sleeping  rooms.  In  one  corner  is  a  work  stand,  in  another  a  chess-table,  or  light,  mov- 
able screen  ;  here  and  there  are  chairs,  foot-stools  and  all  the  summer  comforts  and 
luxuries  the  house  can  afford.  The  people  sit  here  in  delightful  idleness,  at  work,  or 
receiving  their  friends.  In  the  evening  coffee  is  brought  out,  and  among  the  flowers  and 
statuary,  laughter  and  sweet  songs  to  thrumming  of  the  guitar  mingle  with  the  murmur 
of  the  fountain.  In  winter  they  all  disappear,  furniture,  ornaments  and  people  ;  the 


206  Cities  of  the   World. 

patio  is  deserted,  for  the  household  then  lives  upon  the  upper  floors.  This  peculiarity  of 
the  Seville  houses  makes  the  city  remarkably  gay  and  attractive,  and  adds  an  oriental 
charm  to  its  "little  tortuous  streets  that  emerge  on  immense  squares,  filled  with  orange 
trees,  or  the  deserted  and  silent  cross-road,  from  which  one  comes  out,  after  a  short  turn, 
into  a  street  traversed  by  a  noisy  crowd."  Various  foot-streets,  where  no  carriages  go, 
"  are  lined  with  attractive,  bazaar-like  shops,  and  overhung  by  '  sails,'  drawn  from  roof  to 
roof,  which  make  telescopic  booths,  narrow,  shady  avenues.  In  these  now  and  again  you 
see  the  picturesque  cigarette-girls,  or  other  venders,  gayly  dressed  peasants,  or,  perhaps, 
a  long-cloaked  figure,  with  his  sharp-pointed  stiletto  concealed  in  the  folds  of  his  dress, 
ready  for  some  revengeful  deed.  These  callcs,  or  alley-ways,  squirm  among  the  houses 
with  no  visible  intention  of  ever  coming  out  anywhere."  At  every  window,  in  every 
garden,  there  are  some  of  the  famously  beautiful  Andalusian  women,  dressed  in  white, 
half  hidden  among  the  graperies  and  rose  bushes.  On  the  bank  of  the  Guadalquiver, 
one  of  the  finest  promenades  is  an  arbored  road,  two  or  three  miles  long.  Toward 
evening  it  is  an  enchanted  spectacle,  with  its  pedestrians  and  equipages  ;  some  of  the 
horses  seen  here  are  the  most  magnificent  in  Spain.  "  The  Christian  Promenade  extends 
from  the  famous  Golden  Tower  to  the  palace  of  the  Duke  of  Montpensie,  and 
is  entirely  shaded  by  oriental  plane  trees,  oaks,  cypresses,  willows,  poplars, 
and  other  southern  trees.  A  great  bridge  crosses  the  river,  and  leads  to  the 
suburb  of  Triana.  A  long  row  of  ships,  the  light  boats,  called  golettas,  and 
barks  extend  along  the  river,  and  between  the  Golden  Tower  and  the  duke's  palace  there 
is  a  continual  coming  and  going  of  boats.  Toward  setting  sun  a  crowd  of  ladies  swarm 
through  the  avenues,  troops  of  workmen  pass  the  bridge,  the  work  on  the  ships  increases, 
a  band  hidden  among  the  trees  plays,  the  river  is  tinged  with  rose  tint,  the  air  is  filled 
with  the  perfume  of  flowers,  and  over  all  is  the  flaming  color  of  the  evening  sky.  Then 
the  city  becomes  another  sight  ;  as  night  settles  down  the  patios  of  all  the  houses  are 
illuminated  and  the  marbles  of  the  vestibules,  the  mosaics  of  the  walls,  the  glass  in  the 
doors  and  the  crystals  of  the  tapers  shine  in  a  thousand  colors.  To  pass  through  the 
streets — full  of  promenaders — seemed  like  going  through  so  many  ball  rooms,  crowded 
with  ladies  and  overflowing  with  music,  voices  and  laughter."  In  the  daylight  the  fairy 
land  has  vanished  and  you  are  yourself  again,  the  dazzling  spell  has  left,  and  you  are 
free  to  see  the  "  lions  "  of  the  famous  city.  "  First  of  all  comes  the  cathedral,  grand  and 
magnificent  outside,  in  the  center  of  its  spacious  square  ;  wonderful,  bewildering  within, 
with  pillars  that  in  the  distance  appear  too  slender  to  support  the  building,  though  they 
are  large  as  towers.  There  are  five  naves,  each  one  of  which  might  form  a  church  ; 
all  of  them  together  form  sixty-eight  bold  vaulted  ceilings  which  ^eem  to  expand  and 
rise  slowly  as  you  look  at  them.  The  chapels  are  worthy  of  the  church,  for  they  con- 
tain the  masterpieces  of  over  a  hundred  painters  and  sculptors."  There  are  so  many 
marvelous  things  in  art  and  historical  interest  about  the  Cathedral  that  I  can  not  even 


Granada.  207 

name  them.  There  is  the  Court  of  the  Oranges  situated  on  the  west  of  the  church, 
surrounded  by  a  great  embattled  wall,  and  set  with  a  fountain  in  the  center  encircled  by 
a  grove  of  orange  trees,  and  the  Giralda,  that  are  especially  famous  and  beautiful. 
"  The  Giralda  is  an  old  Arabian  tower,  built,  it  is  said,  in  the  year  1000,  after  the  designs 
of  Gaver,  the  inventor  of  algebra.  Although  it  has  undergone  some  important  changes 
it  has  still  an  Arabian  appearance,  immense  and  imposing  as  an  Egyptian  pyramid  and 
.  at  the  same  time  as  gay  and  lovely  as  the  chiosk  of  a  garden.  It  is  a  square  brick  tower 
iof  a  very  beautiful  rose  color,  quite  bare  up  to  a  certain  point,  after  which  it  is  orna- 
mented with  little  Moorish  mullion  windows,  scattered  here  and  there  at  random,  and 
furnished  with  small  balconies ;  then  there  rises  a  Christian  bell  tower  three  floors  in 
•height  :  in  the  first  is  the  bell  ;  the  second  is  encircled  by  a  balustrade,  and  the  third  is 
formed  like  a  kind  of  bell  tower,  upon  which  turns,  like  a  weather  vane,  a  colossal 
statue  of  gilded  bronze."  From  afar  and  near  it  is  a  landmark,  and  in  all  the  range  of  view 
from  the  pinnacle  there  is  nothing  so  fair  as  Seville  itself,  white  as  marble,  "  encircled  by 
a  wreath  of  gardens,  groves  and  avenues  in  the  midst  of  a  country  scattered  with  villas 
and  covered  with  oriental  beauties."  On  the  same  square  as  the  Cathedral  is  the 
Alcazar,  an  ancient  palace  of  the  Moorish  kings,  like  a  fortress  with  its  high  walls  and 
embattled  towers  without,  but  within  is  the  most  elegant  Arabian-Christian  royal  palace 
in  the  world  ;  next  to  it  is  the  Casa  de  Pilatos,  a  simple  and  plain  looking  palace  on  the 
outside,  marvelous  within  the  courts  and  grand  halls.  Seville  is  now  an  intellectual  city, 
though  it  no  longer  deserves  the  name  of  the  Spanish  Athens,  which  it  once  so  proudly 
bore  ;  and  after  Madrid  it  is  the  most  flourishing  in  art,  literature,  and  university 
education  in  Spain.  Its  people  number  about  a  hundred  and  forty  thousand,  and  its 
interesting  sights — they  are  legion. 

Granada  is  the  most  celebrated  city  of  Southern  Spain,  although  with  its  population 
of  seventy-five  thousand  it  is  now  but  the  shadow  of  the  powerful  city  of  the  Moors, 
which,  before  the  Christian  conquest,  held  five  hundred  thousand  people. 

"  Granada  rests  in  what  might  pass  for  the  Happy  Valley  of  Rasselas,  a  deep  stretch 
of  thirty  miles,  called  simply  the  Vega,  and  tilled  from  end  to  end  on  a  system  of  irriga- 
tion established  by  the  Moslem  conquerors."  It  is  a  town  of  "  spacious  squares,  some 
beautiful  straight  streets  and  others  tortuous  and  narrow,  lined  with  houses,  painted  in 
imitation  bas-reliefs,  with  cupids,  garlands,  bits  of  curtain  and  veils  of  a  thousand  colors, 
without  that  oriental  aspect  peculiar  to  the  other  Andalusian  cities.  The  lowest  part  of 
Granada  is  almost  entirely  built  up  with  the  regularity  of  a  modern  city  ;  "  they  lead  to 
the  picturesque  Alameda,  which  is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  promenade  in  the  world  ; 
it  is  "  a  long  avenue  of  extraordinary  width  through  which  fifty  carriages  in  line  could 
pass,  flanked  by  minor  avenues,  along  which  run  rows  of  immense  trees  that  form  at  a 
great  height  an  enormous  arch  of  verdure,  so  thick  that  not  a  ray  of  sunshine  can  shine 
through  it ;  and,  at  the  extremities  of  the  middle  avenue,  two  fountains,  which  throw  up 


208 


Cities  of  the   World. 


water  in  large  streams,  that  fall  again  in  fine  vaporous  rain  ;  and  between  the  avenues 
crystaline  springs  ;  and,  in  the  center,  a  garden  filled  with  roses,  myrtle,  jasmine  and 
springs  of  water  ;  on  one  side  is  the  river  Xenil,  which  flows  between  two  banks  shaded 
by  groves  of  laurel,  and  far  away  are  the  mountains  covered  with  snow,  upon  which  the  dis- 
tant palms  rear  their  fantastic  heads  ;  and  all  about  a  vivid  green  very  thick  and  luxu- 
riant, which  allows  one  to  catch  a  glimpse  here  and  there  of  blue  sky  that  is 
bewitching ; "  dominating  all  is  the  Alhambra,  situated  on  a  high  hill,  looking  like  a 
fortress  in  the  distance.  This  great  palace  of  the  Moorish  power  in  Spain  is  the  grandest 


COURT    O7    BLESSING,  ALHAMBRA. 

monument  in  the  country,  though  battered  and  partly  fallen  by  the  wanton  abuse  of 
enemies  and  time.  It  is  but  a  relic  of  the  past  now,  and  yet  is  so  wonderful  that  many 
other  writers  beside  our  own  Washington  Irving  have  filled  whole  volumes  in  description 
of  it  and  the  history  connected  with  it.  One  view  of  it  that  should  never  be  missed — 
nor  the  visit  itself  omitted — is  from  the  Generalife,  the  Moorish  sovereigns'  summer 
villa,  on  the  summit  of  a  flowery  mountain  rising  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Darro 
opposite  the  hill  of  the  Alhambra.  Nearly  all  traces  of  by-gone  days  are  here  super- 


Cadiz.  209 

seeled  by  a  small,  simple,  white  villa,  with  few  windows,  an  arched  gallery  and  a 
terrace,  and  is  hidden  in  the  midst  of  a  thicket  of  laurel  and  myrtle. 

Cadiz,  on  the  other  side  of  the  grand  old  rock  of  Gibraltar,  though  not  very  large, 
is  also  a  famous  town  of  Spain.  From  the  sea  it  looks  like  an  "  island  of  plaster, — 
a  great  white  spot  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  without  a  dark  shading,  a  black  point, 
or  a  single  shadow  upon  it.  A  long  narrow  strip  of  land  joins  it  with  the  main- 
land, and  it  is  bathed  on  all  sides  by  the  sea,  like  a  ship  ready  to  set  sail  and  only 
fastened  to  the  shore  by  a  cable.  As  you  approach  it  every  thing  seems  whiter  and 
whiter  ;  it  is  the  whitest  city  in  the  world.  In  the  houses,  within  or  without,  their  courts, 
the  walls  of  the  shops,  the  stone  seats,  pilasters,  even  the  most  remote  corners  and 
darkest  houses  of  the  poor,  or  most  unfrequented  streets,  are  all  white.  No  servant,  who 
does  not  understand  whitewashing,  is  received  in  any  family.  The'  streets  are  straight, 
but  very  narrow,  so  that,  as  they  are  very  long  too  and  most  of  them  cross  the  whole  city, 
one  can  see  at  the  end,  as  through  the  crack  of  a  door,  a  small  strip  of  sky.  The  houses 
have  a  large  number  of  windows,  and  every  window  is  furnished  with  a  kind  of  project- 
ing inclosed  balcony,  which  rests  on  that  of  the  window  above  and  supports  the  one  of 
the  window  below  ;  in  many  streets  of  this  fashion  houses  are  completely  covered  with  glass. 
You  hardly  see  a  bit  of  wall,  and  seem  to  be  walking  through  the  corridors  of  an  immense 
museum.  Here  and  there,  between  the  houses,  project  the  superb  branches  of  a  palm  ; 
in  every  square  there  is  a  luxurious  mass  of  verdure  ;  at  all  the  windows  there  are  tufts 
of  grass  and  bunches  of  flowers."  From  one  of  the  many  towers  the  view  of  Cadiz  is 
like  a  great  white  play-city.  Who  would  ever  think  it  had  been  burned,  bombarded, 
devastated  by  plague  and  the  scene  of  such  horrible  massacres  !  it  lies  so  perfectly  pure- 
looking  now,  who  would  ever  guess  at  its  thrilling  history  !  From  the  midst  of  the  build- 
ings as  from  the  sea  it  is  milk-white.  "  There  is  not  a  roof  in  the  entire  city.  Every 
house  is  closed  at  the  top  by  a  terrace,  surrounded  by  a  whitewashed  parapet.  From 
almost  all  these  terraces  rises  a  small  tower,  white,  too,  which,  in  turn,  is  surmounted  by 
another  terrace  cupola  or  species  of  sentinel  box  ;  every  thing  white.  All  these  little 
cupolas,  points  and  battlements,  which  form  a  curious  and  very  varied  outline  around 
the  city,  stand  out  and  appear  whiter  still  against  the  blue  of  the  sea.  The  cathedral  is 
an  immense  marble  edifice  of  the  sixteenth  century,  of  a  bold  and  noble  architecture, 
and  rich,  like  all  the  Spanish  churches,  in  every  kind  of  treasure."  Above  the  high  altar 
in  the  Cadiz  convent  is  the  picture  which  Murillo  was  pain  ting  when  he  had  the  fall  from 
the  scaffolding  which  caused  his  death.  The  bull  circus  and  the  picture  gallery  are  in- 
teresting, but  they  are  not  so  fane  as  many  others  in  Spain,  while  the  promenade  along 
the  sea  shore,  among  oranges  and  palms,  is  perfectly  charming.  In  the  evening  the  band 
plays  and  the  broad  walks  are  filled  with  gay  crowds  of  gallant  Spanish  cavaliers,  and 
beautiful,  dark-eyed  women. 

Sunny  Spain,  with  its  half-tropical  climate,  and  easy-going,  pleasure-loving  people, 


2io  Cities  of  the   World. 

seems  a  land  where  work  is  very  unimportant.  It  is  easy  to  live,  where  the  natural  pro- 
ducts are  cheap,  palatable  and  nourishing,  and  the  weather  is  warm  enough  to  spend 
most  of  the  time  out  of  doors  ;  then,  a  great  many  people — especially  in  the  cities — 
belong  to  the  nobility  and  are  supported  by  the  government  in  offices  of  civil  trust,  in  the 
army,  clergy  and  different  orders  of  nuns,  to  say  nothing  of  the  numbers  who  live  as 
prisoners,  or  as  beggars  all  their  lives.  But  there  are  some  workers  ;  in  the  fertile  plains 
and  valleys  farmers  raise  olives,  almonds,  grapes,  nuts,  oranges,  lemons  and  raisins,  which 
are  valuable  exports,  although  common  enough  at  home.  It  takes  many  hands  to  make 
these  into  oil  and  prepare  them  for  the  foreign  market,  even  before  they  can  go  to  the 
merchants  or  the  shippers.  There  is  a  great  mineral  wealth  in  Spain  that  is  worked 
somewhat,  and  many  peasants  are  employed  day  after  day  as  shepherds  to  care  for  the 
flocks  that  pasture  on  the  hill-sides.  Tradesmen  and  shopkeepers  copy  something  of  the 
French  enterprise  in  their  stores  ;  artisans  and  servants  are  many,  while  in  and  about 
Barcelona  there  are  extensive  cotton  mills.  In  other  places  the  making  of  silk  and  paper 
are  thriving  industries.  In  addition  to  all  these  occupations  there  are  large  numbers  of 
men  and  women  employed  in  factories  for  making  tobacco,  fire-arms  and  gunpowder, 
which  last  are  controlled  altogether  by  the  government. 


PORTUGAL. 

IT  is  a  stange  fact  that  tourists  go  all  the  way  around  Portugal, — to  France,  Spain, 
and  to  Italy — but  leave  this  tiny  kingdom  of  the  Iberian  peninsula  unvisited  ;  and  yet 
travelers  who  have  been  there  are  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  its  beautiful  scenery  and 
interesting  places.  Lisbon,  from  the  Tagus,  is  compared  to  the  majestic  city  of 
Constantinople,  to  Genoa,  and  is  even  said  to  be  as  fair  and  queenly  as  Naples,  of  which 
Goethe  said  that  no  man  who  remembered  seeing  it  could  be  perfectly  miserable.  From 
the  tops  of  the  hills,  "  crowned  by  castle,  cloister  and  cathedral,"  its  houses,  "  built  of 
creamy,  marble-like  sandstone,  terrace  the  hill-sides,  forming  a  stately  staircase,  down 
which  Lisbon  steps  as  a  queen  to  the  water's  edge.  The  tiled  fronts  of  the  houses — 
which,  seen  nearer  make  one  think  of  patchwork  bed-quilts  hung  out  to  air — in  the 
distance  flash  back  the  sunshine  from  their  glazed  surfaces  like  so  many  great  gems  " 
among  domes  and  cupolas,  church  towers  and  palace  trades.  If  some  of  the  enchant- 
ment is  lost  after  you  have  landed,  surely  there  is  full  compensation  in  interesting  sights. 
"  The  mountainous  streets  wind  and  climb,  criss-cross,  angle,  and  lose  themselves  in 
labyrinthine  tangles,  blind  alleys  or  pleasant  squares  ;  "  the  balconies  of  the  houses 


Lisbon.  211 

are  draped  with  bright  rugs  or  gay  shawls  and  overhung  by  parti-colored  awnings. 
"  The  people  live  much  upon  the  street ;  the  houses  of  the  poor  open  to  it,  and  from  the 
narrow  sidewalk  there  is  a  full  view  of  the  home  life.  In  the  more  elegant  quarters  the 
wistaria  droops  in  purple  festoons  over  the  balustrades  which  edge  the  roof,  while  spots 
of  rosy  pink  or  vivid  scarlet  tell  of  blossoming  oleanders  or  cacti,  for  the  roof  of  one 
row  of  houses  often  forms  its  own  garden,  or  that  of  the  houses  upon  the  next  terrace. 
Here  and  there  roofs  of  red  semi-cylindrical  tile  project  over  the  house  fronts,  suggest- 
ing the  fluted  frill  of  an  old  lady's  cap.  Everywhere  there  is  sparkling  color  and  daz- 
zling light.  Sometimes  the  tiles  on  the  fronts  of  the  houses  form  mosaics  of  gigantic 
figures,  vases  of  flowers,  or  baskets  of  fruit.  A  prominent  feature  in  street  life  are  the 
Varinhos,  or  fish  and  fruit  women,  natives  of  Ovar,  in  the  north  of  Portugal.  They 
form  a  strong  contrast  to  the  native  Lisbonese,  by  their  odd  peasant  costume  and  by 
their  business-like,  hustling  and  bustling  manners,  and  the  untiring  industry  with  which 
they  run  barefoot  all  day  over  the  rough  pavements,  balancing  a  heavy  basket  of  fruit 
or  fish  nicely  upon  their  heads,  and  shrilly  calling  their  wares  as  they  go.  In  the  fruit 
market  these  Varinhos  are  the  huckster  women,  who,  in  a  little  umbrella  encampment, 
sell  poultry,  bouquets,  and  heaps  of  apricots, — '  eggs  of  the  sun,' — grapes,  plums,  and 
purple  figs  ;  or  who,  in  the  fish  market  at  early  morning,  fill  their  baskets  from  the  slimy, 
shining  heaps,  that  the  fishermen  have  just  brought  in.  Their  costume  is  a  loose  jacket 
and  short  blue  stuff  skirt,  with  a  sash  knotted  about  the  hips.  They  are  all  fond  of 
jewelry,  and  several  chains  or  strings  of  gold  beads,  with  two  pairs  of  heavy  ear-rings 
that  look  like  two  united  water  jars,  are  often  seen  in  company  with  bare  feet  and  tatters. 
Another  class  of  people  familiar  in  the  Lisbon  streets  are  the  Gallegos.  These  are 
burly  thick-set  men  with  bushy  black  side  whiskers  and  clean  shaven  upper  lips.  They 
are  natives  of  Galicia  and  the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  for  the  Portuguese, 
who  feel  it  a  degradation  to  bear  any  kinds  of  burdens. 

"  The  public  squares  of  the  city  are  numerous  and  generally  charmingly  laid  out, 
with  a  profusion  of  semi-tropical  plants,  statues,  and  fountains.  You  can  scarcely  walk 
in  any  direction  without  soon  passing  a  number  of  ehaf arizes — they  keep  the  Moorish 
name  for  fountains — trickling  from  a  carved  head,  or  iron  tube  set  in  the  wall,  into  a 
capacious  stone  basin  ;  they  are  supplied  from  the  Alcantara  Aqueduct,  which  is  con- 
sidered the  greatest  piece  of  bridge  architecture  in  the  world,  it  being  eighteen  miles 
long  and  higher  than  Trinity  steeple  in  New  York.  Thirty  Gallegos  fill  their  casks  at 
each  fountain  and  carry  water  about  the  city  to  all  who  are  not  directly  supplied  by  the 
water-works  or  by  wells.  The  water  carriers  also  form  the  fire  department,  and  other 
Gallegos  act  as  porters.  These  are  usually  men  of  immense  strength  ;  a  couple  of  them 
will  carry,  by  means  of  a  yoke,  from  which  a  swinging  platform  hangs,  huge  burdens  of- 
tentimes weighing  as  much  as  half  a  ton."  During  the  day  the  streets  are  usually 
rather  deserted,  especially  of  ladies,  who,  after  attending  mass,  spend  the  rest  of  their 


2 1 2  Cities  of  the   World. 

time  in  sitting  by  the  window  or  occasionally  doing  a  little  needle  work.  But  at  night 
Lisbon  wakes  up  and  is  seen  to  the  best  advantage.  The  parks  glitter  with  gas  jets  and 
numerous  bands  vie  with  each  other  in  creating  a  crash  of  sound.  The  senhoras — 
ladies — descend  from  their  watch-towers,  in  resplendent  Parisian  costumes,  visit  the 
theaters  and  the  public  gardens  with  the  handsome  Portuguese  gentlemen,  who,  even 
on  foot,  have  a  cavalier  appearance  from  their  elegant  manners,  their  dress  and  the 
enormous  spurs  that  many  wear  who  never  mount  a  horse.  Lisbon,  devout  as  well  as 
gay,  has  numerous  churches  and  noble  charities.  The  church  and  monastery  of  Sao 
Jeronymo,  at  Belem,  the  western  suburb  of  Lisbon,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  build- 
ings in  Portugal.  Through  the  richly  carved  doorway  in  the  great  massive  walls  with 
their  florid  decorations,  you  enter  the  imposing  interior.  Tall,  richly  wrought  columns 
shoot  upward,  supporting  the  vaulted  roof,  which  has  been  described  as  so  delicate 
that  the  immense  mass  of  stone  groining  looks  as  light  and  feathery  as  the  underside  of  a 
clump  of  palm  branches.  At  the  time  it  was  being  built,  every  one  felt  sure  that  the  roof 
would  fall  as  soon  as  the  scaffolding  was  taken  away  ;  the  architect  himself  was  so  afraid 
his  work  would  prove  a  failure  that  he  ran  away  to  France  before  the  trial  was  made. 
The  king  appointed  condemned  criminals  to  remove  the  supports,  promising  pardon  if 
the  covering  did  not  fall.  Contrary  to  all  expectations  the  roof  rested  securely  on  its 
slender  piers  ;  the  liberated  felons  used  the  scaffolding  to  build  houses  for  themselves  ; 
the  storms  and  even  earthquakes  of  four  centuries  have  swept  by  the  structure  and  still 
it  stands  unshaken  from  its  delicate  poise.  "  Within  the  cloister  garden  great  bushes  of 
pink  hydrangeas  relieve  the  cool  gray  architecture  with  their  brilliant  color.  Rose  trees 
bend  with  ghostly  white  and  passionate  crimson  blossoms.  Unfamiliar  flame-colored 
flowers  from  China,  palms  and  ferns,  vines  and  shrubs,  are  grouped  in  hot-house  profu- 
sion within  the  low  hedges  of  trimly-cut  box."  This  ancient  monastery  is  now  used  for 
an  orphans'  school,  called  the  Casa  Pia.  In  the  old  refectory,  hung  with  portraits  of 
the  kings  of  Portugal  and  wainscoted  with  tiles  representing  the  history  of  Joseph,  is  now 
the  dining-room,  and  around  the  long,  low  tables  five  hundred  or  so  of  happy,  intelli- 
gent-looking boys  gather  for  every  meal.  Although  "charity  scholars,  educated  at  the 
government  expense,  they  are  not  only  taught  the  ordinary  branches  with  the  addition 
of  French  and  English,  but  are  allowed  to  make  choice  of  a  trade,  and  after  this  is 
learned,  to  leave  the  institution  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  a  set  of  tools  as  an  out- 
fit. The  little  beds  in  the  well-ventilated,  pleasant  dormitories  are  clean  and  sweet,  the 
food  nourishing,  and  in  the  upper  cloisters "  an  American  visitor  saw  the  bathing 
suits  in  which  the  boys  frolicked  on  the  beach  laid  out  to  dry  in  the  sun.  On  the  sea- 
shore, not  far  from  the  monastery,  stands  the  Tower  of  Belem,  which,  though  built  in 
1495,  ig  wonderfully  fresh  and  perfect.  The  great  crosses  of  the  Order  of  Christ,  bla- 
zoned on  the  shields  which  faced  the  battlements,  show  like  a  narrow  edge  of  embroidery 
from  below,  and  the  whole  edifice  is  singularly  light  and  graceful  for  a  fortress  against 


Oporto,  213 

pirates  and  a  military  prison,  whose  delicate  watch  towers,  hanging  in  raid-air  on  the 
corners  of  the  building,  have  stood  centuries  of  storm  as  unshaken  as  its  foundations 
have  resisted  the  "relentless  smiting  of  the  waves." 

Many  relics  of  Lisbon's  former  greatness  are  to  be  seen  in  the  city.  "  The  roofless, 
vine-grown  arches,  the  broken  ribs  of  the  once  noble  vault "  of  the  old  Carmo  church  are 
"  a  most  striking  monument  to  the  power  of  the  great  earthquake  of  1755  which  shook 
the  city  to  its  foundations  ; "  in  one  of  its  chancels  is  the  Archaeological  Society's  Mu- 
seum ;  but  "  the  true  museums  of  Lisbon  are  the  curiosity  shops,"  with  their  motley 
stock  of  things  curious,  old  and  beautiful ;  "  more  directly  connected  with  the  known 
Portuguese  history  is  a  collection  of  antique  royal  carnages  of  tattered  and  tottering  but 
still  pompous  relics  of  former  pageants  that  bring  back  vividly  the  epochs  of  the  men 
they  served."  Among  them  are  "  two  queer  pickle-jar  arrangements  on  wheels  that  are 
used  by  the  image  of  the  Virgin  when  on  holy-days  she  takes  an  airing  in  festal  pro- 
cessions. Chief  of  these  religious  carnivals  is  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi.  On  this 
occasion  St.  George — a  Gallego  in  a  suit  of  armor — parades  the  street  upon  a  handsome 
horse,  and  the  king  is  obliged  to  follow  on  foot  and  bare-headed.  But  it  is  in  the  north 
of  Portugal  that  religious  fetes  are  to  be  seen  at  their  best ;  "  in  Lisbon  the  popular  en- 
thusiasm reaches  to  its  height  in  the  bull-fights.  *'  A  Portuguese  bull-fight  is  a  very 
different  affair  from  the  disgusting  and  brutal  national  sport  in  Spain  ;  neither  bulls  nor 
horses  are  killed,  and  the  fighters  run  very  little  risk,  as  cylinders  ending  in  wooden 
knobs  cover  the  animal's  horns  and  it  can  only  inflict  a  knock-down  blow,  instead  of 
piercing  and  tearing.  This  seems,  of  course,  very  tame  to  the  Spaniards,  but  the  Lis- 
bonese  revel  in  the  sport,"  and  make  it  a  very  brilliant  entertainment.  "  Royalty  honors 
the  scene  by  attendance,  and  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  Lisbon  shine  in  full  opera  dress 
in  the  upper  boxes,  their  white  elbows  resting  on  richly  embroidered  silk  shawls  which 
drape  the  boxes  in  front  in  graceful  folds,"  while  the  most  elegant  and  accomplished 
sons  of  nobility  are  often  the  principal  figures  in  the  ring. 

Throughout  the  narrow,  crooked  and  badly-paved  old  part  in  the  eastern  portion  as 
well  as  in  the  more  stately  New  Town,  Lisbon  has  many  churches  and  chapels,  monas- 
teries, homes  and  hospitals,  numerous  educational  and  scientific  institutions,  libraries  and 
museums  ;  and  among  the  industries  there  are  extensive  shipbuilding  docks,  powder 
mills  and  arsenals,  and  factories  where  quantities  of  silk,  porcelain,  paper,  soap,  and 
other  things  are  made  ;  and  along  the  busy  docks  the  vessels  are  loaded  with  oranges, 
citrons,  wool,  oil  and  leather,  chiefly  for  the  foreign  markets  of  Great  Britain 
and  Africa.  There  are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  in  the 
capital,  which  is  a  little  more  than  twice  as  many  as  live  in  the  largest  Portuguese 
seaport,  Oporto.  This  is  "  an  oddly  gabled  city  with  many  balconied  facades ; 
gleaming  now  bizarre,  now  pure  white,  among  the  trees  in  irregular  terraces  that 
stretch  along  the  Douro  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  ;  high,  narrow  houses  shoulder  each 


2 1 4  Cities  of  the   World. 

other  steeply  up  the  hill,  crowding,  overhanging,  and  grudging  every  foot  of  the  tortuous 
streets  that  zigzag  among  them  or  plunge  precipitately  like  torbid  torrents  into  the  river.  It  is 
a  city  of  contrasts.  Rickety,  toppling  structures,  swarming  with  life,  look  into  the  spa- 
cious arched  corridors,  and  shaded  gardens  of  a  handsome  palacio  ;  smart  and  modern 
buildings  ablaze  with  gaudy  colored  tiles  press  the  crenellated  wall  of  a  time-blackened 
line  of  fortifications.  In  the  background  tower  the  slender  campanile  of  the  Torre  dos 
Clerigos — Tower  of  the  Clergy — and  the  pretentious  dome  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  The 
suspension  bridge  throws  its  delicate  arch  across  the  gorge  of  the  Douro,  and  the  ship- 
ping files  in  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Crowds  of  gayly  dressed  peasants  swarm  the  quay, 
and  little  boats  ply  from  either  shore.  It  is  a  scene  of  infinite  variety  and  animation, 
for  the  Douro  is  Oporto's  principal  thoroughfare,  where  the  little  bizarre,  gondola-like 
boats,  with  their  stout  oarsmen  or  oarswomen,  row  you  where  you  want  to  go."  The  port 
is  always  well  filled  with  craft — "steamers  and  sailing-vessels  bound  for  Brazil,  or  just 
in  with  codfish  from  the  Banks,  queer  fishing  craft  from  the  coast,  fetuccas  with  lateen 
sails,  flat  caiques  from  the  bar,  and  galleys — some  of  them  with  double  banks  of  oarsmen 
in  ancient  style — from  the  vinelands.  They  wait  at  the  foot  of  the  Queen's  Stairs, 
with  idle,  flapping  sails,  while  the  procession  of  market-women  ready  for  home  troop 
down  the  broad  flight  of  stone  steps,  with  nests  of  empty  crates  forming  high  columns 
upon  their  heads.  Women  engaged  in  coaling  ships  trot  briskly  up  and  down  with  sooty 
baskets,  and  the  sinewy  arms  of  many  others  often  pass  their  brother  oarsmen  or  give 
them  a  close  race.  The  Serra  Convent — 

'  Half  church  of  God, 
Half  castle  'gainst  the  Moor,' 

looks  down  upon  this  busy  scene  from  its  high  eyrie  of  numerous  unoccupied  buildings. 
The  Douro  is  like  the  people  of  its  great  city  ;  it  is  strong,  wild,  and  turbulent,  and 
though  forced  to  serve  the  interests  of  commerce  and  manufacture,  its  riotous  disposition 
shows  itself  in  sudden  freshets,  like  the  passionate  outbreak  of  opinion  among  the  factory 
operatives  and  lower  orders  of  the  city,  who,  for  the  most  part  are  engaged  in  the  silk  and 
glove  factories,  the  linen,  wool  and  cotton  mills,  or  the  large  places  that  make  tobacco 
and  segars,  and  earthen  ware  and  leather.  Oporto  is  abundantly  supplied  with  water 
by  means  of  public  fountains,  around  which,  as  at  Lisbon,  interesting  groups  are  formed 
of  picturesque  women  and  brawny  men,  who  gossip  and  wrangle  while  awaiting  the  slow 
filling  of  their  water  pots  and  casks  :  "  and  the  streets  of  this  city  are  as  interesting  in 
their  way  as  those  of  the  capital.  "  There  is  not  so  much  elegant  sauntering,  but  the 
people  seem  to  have  the  art  of  blending  enjoyment  with  business.  Oporto  is  a  commer- 
cial city  more  than  any  thing  else.  Its  palaces  are  those  of  merchants,  and  have  an  air  of 
newness  and  of  modern  improvements.  Enterprise  is  the  order  of  the  day.  New  build- 


Oporto.  2 1  = 

ings  are  constantly  springing  up,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  quarter  to  be  found  where  th< 
clink  of  the  trowel  and  the  sharp  blow  of  the  hammer  are  not  heard.  The  citizens  havi 
a  busier  and  more  energetic  air  than  those  of  Lisbon.  The  spirit  of  trade  pervades  al 
classes  ;  the  children  even  barter  their  toys,  and  boast  of  their  good  bargains.  Th< 
markets  have  far  more  of  a  provincial  character  than  those  of  Lisbon,"  and  to  i 
stranger  they  are  full  of  endless  amusements,  as  he  "  wanders  among  the  booths  am 
tables,  and  admires  the  types  of  magnificent  womanhood  always  there.  All  through  th< 
market  the  women  are  busy,  filling  the  intervals  of  trade  with  spinning  or  some  othe: 
useful  employment.  The  poultry  sellers  have  pigeons  and  partridges,  in  rustic  cage; 
formed  of  sticks  thrust  into  two  round  pieces  of  cork  ;  and  noisy  ducks,  protruding  thei: 
necks  through  the  wire  netting  stretched  across  their  baskets."  Then  there  is  the  onior 
booth,  with  its  braided  clusters  of  enormous  red  bulbs  ;  the  pottery  merchant,  with  hi: 
display  of  gayly  painted  plaques  and  vases,  while  "  skirting  the  principal  market,  like  ar 
outlying  line  of  fortifications,  stand  the  ox-carts  which  have  brought  in  the  fruits  anc 
vegetables  of  the  farmers.  The  ornamental  carved  yoke  of  the  oxen  is  a  flat  boarc 
pierced  with  a  tracery,  often  reminding  one  of  Moorish  lattice-work,  and  often  colorec 
in  the  same  oriental  fashion.  A  favorite  resort  in  evenings,  is  the  finely  laid-ou 
park  adjoining  the  Crystal  Palace,  where  bands  and  fireworks  rend  the  air  with  imita 
tion  thunder  and  lightning."  The  Crystal  Palace  was  raised  for  an  exhibition  building 
and  is  a  fine  one  for  its  purposes  ;  fairs  and  various  different  amusements  are  now  helc 
in  it.  "  Characteristic  evening  spectacles  at  Oporto  are  the  funerals,  which  always  tab 
place  at  night.  Attendants  run  beside  the  hearse  carrying  links,  forming  a  ghastly  an< 
insufficient  torch-light  procession.  At  the  church  the  coffin  is  laid  upon  a  bier  in  th< 
center  of  the  nave  and  draped  with  a  heavy  pall.  When  the  funeral  is  that  of  a  persoi 
of  wealth,  tall  waxen  tapers  are  handed  by  the  beadle  to  everyone  who  enters  the  church 
and  lines  of  choir  boys  extending  from  the  altar  to  the  main  entrance  chant  with  thei 
clear  youthful  voices  the  service  for  the  dead."  The  Cathedral  is  one  of  the  oddes 
pieces  of  architecture  in  the  world,  with  its  "  ugly  serpents,  griffins  and  other  Gothi< 
hobgoblins  that  climb  and  leer  from  every  cranny.  Extraordinary  blue  tiles  face  th< 
walls  of  the  cloisters  within,  from  the  pavement  to  the  upper  story,  and  depict  mos 
amazing  scenes  from  the  Song  of  Solomon."  Besides  these  places  of  interest  there  ar< 
several  hospitals  and  a  good  many  other  fine  institutions  that  are  among  the  best  in  th< 
kingdom.  This  is  the  second,  and  after  Lisbon  the  only  real  important  city  of  Portugal 
It  has  about  a  hundred  and  ten  thousand  people,  nearly  the  size  of  Jersey  City,  Nev 
Jersey — and  deals  a  great  deal  in  wine,  especially  port,  which  takes  its  name  from  th< 
city,  and  makes  it  full  of  extra  life  and  activity  during  the  vintage  season.  Much  of  thi: 
cargo  and  the  other  shipments  from  Oporto  are  carried  in  vessels  made  in  its  own  ship 
yards,  which  send  out  famously  fast  sailers. 


ITALY. 

A  LL  persons  who  travel  at  all  visit  Italy.      No  other  country  combines  so  many 

JL\.    attractions,  or  speaks  so  many  different  voices  of  invitation."  The  greatness  of  that 

country  is  not  in  population,  commerce  or  industry  ;  it  is  the  greatness  of  beauty  and  art. 

"A  land 
Which  was  the  mightiest  in  its  old  command, 

And  is  the  loveliest,  and  must  ever  be 
The  master-mold  of  Nature's  heavenly  hand  ; 
******* 

Fair  Italy, 

Thou  art  the  garden  of  the  world,  the  home 
Of  all  Art  yields,  and  Nature  can  decree." 

In  all  ages,  poets  and  painters  have  celebrated  the  charms  of  this  fair  land  ;  every  trav- 
eler feels  the  spell,  and  turning  his  face  toward  Italy,  first  goes,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to 
Rome.  This  is  beyond  any  other  in  the  world  a  city  of  art  and  artists.  There  are  end- 
less numbers  of  museums  and  collections,  churches,  chapels,  palaces,  and  magnificent 
ruins  and  every  other  facility  for  the  study  of  art.  Here  on  the  banks  of  the  yellow 
Tiber  there  are  two  cities  ;  the  Christian  capital  of  a  new  nation  lies  beside  and  even 
above  the  Rome  of  the  Caesars  and  the  emperors  which  once  ruled  the  world.  The  city 
rests  on  the  seven  ancient  hills  and  several  other  heights  or  promontories  rising  out  of 
the  plateau,  which  was  once  the  beautiful  verdant  Campagna,  but  is  now  a  great  sandy 
waste  in  the  midst  of  which  a  living  and  a  dead  city  lie  side  by  side.  Modern  Rome  lies  on 
both  the  west  and  the  east  bank  of  the  Tiber,  the  larger  part  of  it  being  on  the  east  side 
and  in  the  valley  of  the  old  Campus  Martius,  and  stretching  along  the  slopes  of  the  Capi- 
toline,  Esquiline,  Viminal  and  Quirinal  hills  ;  the  Palatine,  Aventine  and  Coelian,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  original  Seven  Hills,  lie  to  the  south-eastward  and  are  in  the  partially 
deserted  district  of  "  Old  Rome,"  surrounded  and  partially  covered  with  the  magnificent 
remains  of  the  classic  city.*  Both  cities  lie  within  the  present  walls  which  make  a  circuit 
of  fourteen  miles.  Only  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  the  five  and  a  half  square  miles 
thus  inclosed  is  occupied  by  houses,  streets  and  squares  ;  gardens  and  vineyards  cover 
the  rest.  But  these  are  gradually  being  encroached  upon,  for  Rome,  the  eternal 
city,  once  more  become  the  capital  of  a  great  state,  is  now  rapidly  growing.  The  river 
which  is  spanned  by  five  bridges  is  now  a  turbid  choked-up  stream  at  Rome,  taking  a 

*  For  description  of  ancient  Rome,  see  "  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World." 


Rome. 


217 


zig-zag  course,  from  north  to  south.  The  main  part  of  the  new  city,  and  all  of  the  old, 
stretches  beyond  its  eastern  shore.  One  of  the  principal  entrances  to  Rome  is  the  Porta 
del  Populo,  or  Gate  of  the  People,  in  the  northern  wall.  "  The  Gate  itself,  although 
designed  in  part  by  Michael  Angelo,  is  not  particularly  noticeable,  but  the  Piazza  del 
Populo,  upon  which  it  opens,  is  an  imposing  square  covering  three  or  four  acres.  In  the 
center  rises  the  noble  obelisk  of  Rhameses,  with  a  fountain  at  its  base  having  four  rounded 
basins  radiating  from  a  common  center  like  the  leaves  of  a  stalk  of  four  leafed  clover, — 
a  stream  of  water  gushing  into  each  basin  from  the  mouth  of  a  lioness  carved  in  stone. 
The  sides  of  the  piazza  are  crescent  shaped,  with  a  fountain  in  the  center  of  each,  adorned 


BRIDGE    OF    ST.    ANGELO,    AND    THE    BORGO. 

with  a  colossal  marble  statue  ;  it  is  bounded  on  the  right  by  a  row  of  trees, — behind  which 
are  some  of  the  finest  private  residences  in  Rome, — and  on  the  left,  by  the  sloping  and 
terraced  walks  which  lead  to  the  heights  of  the  Monte  Pincio.  Opposite  the  gate  rise 
the  domes  of  two  churches  exactly  alike  in  size  and  form  and  making  the  point  from 
which  the  three  principal  streets  of  Rome  branch  out.  The  Corso  in  the  center  leads 
southward  to  the  capitol,  beyond  which  lies  the  site  of  the  Forum,  and  ancient  Rome  ; 
the  Babuino,  on  the  east,  or  left,  leads  to  the  Piazza  di  Spagna  and  the  English  quarter  ; 
the  Ripetta  on  the  right,  leads  by  on^  westward  turn  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  and  St. 


218  Cities  of  the   World. 

Peter's  across  the  river.  Each  of  these  avenues  leads  to  a  multitude  of  interesting  places  ; 
but  the  narrow  Corso,  a  mile  in  length,  lined  with  balconies  in  front  of  shops,  palaces  and 
private  houses,  is  chief  among  all.  It  is  the  finest  street  in  Rome.  Grand  old  palaces, 
handsome  churches  and  many  other  buildings  of  mingled  ancient  and  modern  architect- 
ure, with  innumerable  numbers  and  styles  of  balconies,  line  the  famous  streets  on  both 
sides,  while  here  and  there  it  broadens  into  a  piazza,  or  is  met  by  a  side  street  which  also 
leads  to  a  chapel,  gallery  or  some  other  great  monument  of  beauty  and  time.  Just 
beyond  the  end  of  the  Corso,  the  Via  della  Pedacchia  turns  to  the  right,  and  ends  in  the 
sunny  open  space  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol.  An  immense  flight  of  steps  where  the 
famous  staircase  to  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  used  to  stand,  leads  up  the  hill.  At  its  foot 
are  two  lions  of  Egyptian  porphyry,  and  at  its  head  are  colossal  statues  of  the  twin 
heroes,  Castor  and  Pollux,  and  beyond  are  other  statues  and  precious  relics  of  Imperial 
Rome.  Above  the  grand  staircase  is  the  spacious  piazza  where  Brutus  harangued  the 
people  after  the  murder  of  Julius  Caesar.  In  the  center  of  the  square  is  the  famous 
statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  the  most  perfect  ancient  equestrian  statue  in  existence.  You 
can  still  see  the  traces  of  the  gilding  with  which  it  was  covered  when  it  stood  in  front  of  the 
Arch  of  Septimius  Severus.  At  the  back  of  the  piazza  a  double  staircase  leads  to  the 
palace  of  the  Senator,  and  all  about  are  statues  and  fountains,  with  which  modern  Rome 
has  been  embellished  from  the  ruins  of  her  glorious  mother-city. 

On  either  side  of  the  Senators'  Palace  are  the  handsome  lofty  palaces  built  by 
Michael  Angelo  and  filled  with  choice  collections  ;  from  the  center  rises  the  square, 
majestic  Tower  of  the  Capitol,  from  which  there  is  a  magnificent  view  "  not  only  of  the 
City  of  the  Seven  Hills,  but  the  various  towns  and  villages  of  the  neighboring  plain  and  moun- 
tain which  one  after  another  fell  under  its  sway."  To  the  south-west  is  the  Tarpeian  Rock 
with  the  Mamertine  Prison,  and  the  Temple  of  Vesta  beyond  on  the  bank  of  the  river  ;  fur- 
ther toward  the  south,  with  many  historic  churches  and  picturesque  ruins  between,  is  the 
Aventine  Hill ;  beyond  that  are  the  remains  of  the  old  Servian  wall  and  the  Protestant 
Cemetery  with  its  ancient  pyramid  of  Caius  Cestius,  built  in  the  present  wall,  and  eastward 
of  this  the  ruins  of  Caracalla's  Baths — the  finest  ever  built — while  nearer  by  the  ancient 
Forum  Romanum,  the  great  center  of  Imperial  and  Republican  life,  lies  between  the 
Capitol  and  the  Palatine  Hill,  with  its  massive  fluted  columns  and  rich  capitals  solitary 
and  dismantled,  towering  above  a  few  mean  unsightly  palaces  set  amid  the  rubbish  of 
ages.  At  the  further  end  it  leads  to  that  most  noble  skeleton  of  bygone  magnificence, 
the  Coliseum.  If  we  were  travelers  we  would  linger  here  :  the  Palatine  Hill  lies  on  the 
west,  and  the  Coelian  on  the  south,  while  eastward  extends  the  once  beautiful  plain  where 
the  Roman  villas  lay,  which  have  never  since  been  equaled,  and  are  even  now  awe- 
inspiring  in  their  remains  of  stateliness  and  beauty.  What  was  once  the  Baths  of  Titus 
stand  near  the  Coliseum  on  the  north-east.  This  circuit  covers  "  Old  Rome  ;  "  to  the 
northward  is  the  Esquiline  Hill,  and  next  to  that  the,  Capitoline,  which  with  the  Quirinal 


Rome. 


219 


some  distance  above  and  the  Viminal,  have  buried  their  desolation  under  a  living  city. 
The  most  notable  thing  now  on  the  Quirinal  is  the  Royal  Palace,  which  has  been  called  one 
of  the  largest  and  ugliest  buildings  in  the 
world.  It  was  originally  a  papal  palace,  begun 
by  Pope  Paul  IV.,  and  continued  by  a  long 
line  of  his  successors  ;  but  is  now  the  resi- 
dence of  the  royal  family.  Between  the  foot 
of  the  Capitol  and  the  river  is  the  Ghetto,  or 
the  Jews'  Quarter,  which  was  once  cut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  city,  and  the  loathsome 
place  where  all  the  Hebrews  of  Rome  were 
compelled  to  live.  None  could  appear  out- 
side unless  the  men  were  in  yellow  hats,  or; 
the  women  in  yellow  veils  ;  and  although 
almost  all  the  intolerant  restrictions  have  now 
been  removed  the  life  of  the  Jews  in  Rome' 
is  far  from  independent.  The  quarter,  which 
is  entered  by  eight  gates,  is  entirely  made  THE  CAPITOL. 

up  of  narrow,  crooked  and  dark 
streets,  small  squares,  tall  houses, 
moldy  and  sometimes  half-decayed, 
with  here  and  there  the  seven- 
branched  candlestick  carved  on  the 
walls  ;  remains  of  ancient  palaces — 
and  shops.  Shops  are  without  num- 
ber ;  every  thing  may  be  obtained 
in  the  Ghetto  ;  behind  these  heaps, 
out  of  which  the  women  sew  all  that 
is  capable  of  being  sewn,  are 
precious  stones,  lace,  furniture  of 
all  kinds,  rich  embroidery  from  Al- 
giers and  Constantinople,  striped 
stuffs  from  Spain — but  all  is  con- 
cealed and  under  cover.  The  Jew 
shop-keepers  hiss  at  you,  Cosa  cercate 
as  you  thread  their  narrow  alleys, 
trying  to  induce  you  to  bargain  with 
PYRAMID  OF  CAIUS  CESTius.  them.  The  same  article  is  often 

passed  on  by  mutual  arrangement  from  shop  to  shop,  and  meets  you  wherever  you  go.     On 


22O 


Cities  of  the    World. 


Friday  evening  all  shops  are  shut,  and  bread  is  baked  for  the  Sabbath,  all  merchandise  is 
removed,  and  the  men  go  to  the  synagogue  and  wish  each  other  '  a  good  Sabbath  '  on 
their  return.  The  Ghetto  is  divided  into  five  districts  or  parishes,  each  of  which  rep- 
resents a  particular  race,  whose  fathers  have  been  either  Roman-Jewish  from  ancient 
times,  or  have  been  brought  hither  from  Spain  and  Sicily."  Everywhere  it  teems  with 
life  and  dirt.  "  The  people  sit  in  their  doorways,  or  outside  in  the  streets,  which  do  not 
get  much  more  light  than  the  damp  arid  gloomy  chambers — and  grub  amid  their  old 
trumpery  or  patch  and  sew  diligently."  As  you  walk  through  these  close  muddy  by-ways 


THE    COLISEUM   BY    MOONLIGHT. 

"  the  whole  world  seems  to  be  lying  about  in  countless  rags  and  scraps.  The  frag- 
ments lie  in  heaps  before  the  doors,  they  are  of  every  kind  and  color — gold  fringes,  scraps 
of  silk  brocade,  bits  of  velvet,  red  patches,  blue  patches,  orange,  yellow,  black  or  white, 
torn,  old,  slashed  and  tattered  pieces,  large  and  small.  Here  sit  the  daughters  of  Zion,  at 
work  of  mending,  darning  and  fine  drawing.  It  is  chiefly  in  the  Fiumara,  the  street  lying 
lowest  and  nearest  to  the  river,  and  in  the  street  corners  that  this  business  is  carried  on  by 
men  as  well  as  women,  girls  and  children, — pale,  stooping,  starving  figures,  with  misery 


Rome.  221 

staring  from  the  tangled  hair  and  complaining  silently  in  the  yellow  brown  faces,"  which 
have  not  even  a  trace  of  beauty.  "  The  women  have  such  great  skill  in  mending  and 
repairing  garments  that  their  services  are  in  demand  all  over  the  city  ;  many  of  them 
spend  their  time  in  finer  kinds  of  needle  work  and  beautiful  lace  work,  so  rich  and 
massive  that  it  seems  to  have  been  carved  rather  than  wrought.  The  lower  streets  of 
the  Ghetto,  especially  the  Fiumara,  are  every  year  overflowed  during  the  spring  rains  and 
melting  of  the  mountain  snows,  which  makes  great  misery  and  distress.  Yet  in  spite  of 
this  and  of  the  teeming  population  crowded  into  narrow  alleys,  there  was  less  sickness 
here  during  the  cholera  than  in  any  other  part  of  Rome  ;  and  malaria,"  which  drives  peo- 
ple from  their  homes  every  summer  in  almost  every  other  part  of  the  city,  "  is  unknown 
here.  This  may  be  due  to  the  Jewish  custom  of  whitewashing  their  dwellings  at  every 
festival."  On  the  south  the  Ghetto  faces  the  Island  of  the  Tiber  ;  this  having  been  the 
site  of  several  important  buildings  of  ancient  Rome  and  the  scene  of  some  notable  his- 
torical events,  it  has  more  interest  in  the  past  than  the  present.  Beside  the  picturesque 
remains  of  earlier  towers  and  castle,  the  Island  is  now  occupied  by  the  Church  and  Con- 
vent of  St.  Bartholomew,  which  stands  in  the  center,  with  a  broad  piazza  in  front  decor- 
ated with  statues  and  pillars,  and  the  Hospital  Ben  fratelli  opposite.  Near  here  a  nar- 
row lane  leads  to  the  end  of  the  Island,  where  there  is  a  little  quay  littered  with 
fragments  of  ancient  temples  from  which  a  very  interesting  view  of  the  river  and  its 
bridges  is  to  be  had.  A  bridge  of  6ne  large  and  two  small  arches  connects  the  Island 
with  the  quarter  of  Rome  called  the  Trastevere,  or  city  "  across  the  Tiber," — "  which  is 
almost  unaltered  from  medieval  times,  and  whose  narrow  streets  are  still  overlooked  by 
many  ancient  towers,  gothic  windows  and  curious  fragments  of  sculpture."  The 
people  who  live  here  "  differ  in  many  respects  from  those  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Tiber.  They  pride  themselves  on  being  born  Trastevertni,  profess  to  be  the  direct 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Romans,  seldom  intermarry  with  their  neighbors,  and 
speak  a  dialect  peculiarly  their  own.  It  is  said  that  their  dispositions  also  differ 
from  the  other  Romans;  that  they  are  a  far  more  hasty,  passionate  and  revenge- 
ful, as  they  are  a  stronger  and  more  vigorous  race.  They  are  very  fond  of  keeping  up 
their  old  national  games,  especially  the  morra.  This  is  a  game  played  by  the  men  ;  consists 
in  holding  up,  in  rapid  succession,  any  number  of  fingers  they  please,  calling  out  at  the 
same  time  the  number  their  antagonist  shows.  Simple  and  even  dull  as  this  seems 
to  us,  the  Trasteverini  play  it  with  such  eagerness  and  violence  that  they  get  terribly 
excited,  and  when  disagreements  come  up,  and  they  must  from  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
game  is  played,  the  men  are  in  a  perfect  frenzy  and  often  end  their  dispute  with  murder. 
The  buildings  in  this  quarter  are  among  the  most  interesting  in  Rome,  especially  the 
church  and  convent  of  the  sweet  virgin  saint,  Cecilia;  the  immense  Hospital  of  St.  Michele. 
At  the  upper  end  of  the  Via  Lungaretta,  which  runs  across  this  quarter  from  the  river, 
is  the  Church  of  St.  Maria  in  Trastevere,  which  is  said  to  be  the  first  church  in  Rome, 


222 


Cities  of  the   World. 


dedicated  to  the  Virgin  and  contains  a  great  deal  that  is  both  beautiful  and  interesting. 
Above  this  quarter  of  the  sons  of  ancient  Rome  lies  the  Janiculan,  "  the  steep  crest  of  a  hill 
which  rises  abruptly  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tiber."  Betsveen  them  runs  a  section  of 
the  ancient  Aurelian  wall,  with  the  Porta  Settimiana,  on  the  site  of  the  gardens  of  Sep- 
timius  Severus,  and  at  the  head  of  the  Via  Lungara,  a  street  which  is  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  long  and  occupies  the  whole  length  of  the  valley  between  the  Tiber  and  the  Janicu- 
lan. On  one  side  stand  the  villa  and  gardens  of  the  Farnesina,  a  sixteenth  century 


IN    THE    FORUM,    LOOKING    TOWARD    THE    CAPITOL. 

residence,  which  the  Duca  di  Ripalda  now  owns  with  all  its  treasures  and  famous  Raf- 
faelle  frescoes.  Opposite,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Lungara  is  the  Corsini  Palace,  where 
Queen  Christiana  of  Sweden  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  1600,  and  gathered  about  her 
some  of  the  finest  collections  that  have  ever  been  in  the  city  ;  although  the  present  pic- 
ture gallery  and  magnificent  library,  with  all  the  other  Corsini  collections,  have  been 
founded  since  the  queen's  death.  The  Corsini  Gardens  extend  over  the  Janiculan  to 


Rome. 


223 


the  present  wall  ;  above  the  western  end  is  the  Villa  Lante,  and  around  on  many  sides 
are  other  old  buildings  and  celebrated  churches  partly  or  wholly  in  ruins.  Further  on  is 
the  Torlonia  museum,  containing  a  magnificent  collection  of  sculpture,  which  has  been 
formed  within  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years  and  is  beautifully  arranged  in  seperate  cabinets. 
From  several  places  on  the  top  of  this  hill,  especially  near  the  northern  end,  where 
the  Church  of  St.  Onofrio  stands,  the  view  of  Rome  is  lovely.  The  garden  of  the  con- 
vent attached  to  this  church  is  a  "  lovely  plot  of  ground  fresh  with  running  streams  ;  near 
a  picturesque  group  of  cypress  are  remains  of  the  oak  planted  by  Torquato  Tasso,  the 
great  Italian  poet  who  died  here  in  1595.  " 

One  of  the  principal  entrances  of  the  Catacombs  is  on  the  Janiculan.  These  under- 
ground passages  extend  in  almost  every  direction,  and  cross  each  other  like  the 
streets  of  a  town.  How  this  subterranean 
net-work  came  to  be  here,  it  is  not  known, 
only  guessed  ;  they  have  probably  been  for 
ages.  They  are  principally  connected  with 
the  early  Christians,  but  long  before  their 
time  it  is  said  that  they  were  the  secret 
dwellings  of  thieves  and  outlaws.  In  some 
gardens  adjoining  the  Appian  Road,  about 
two  miles  from  Rome,  is  the  entrance  to  the 
most  celebrated  of  the  catacombs.  A  flight 
of  steps  leads  down  to  an  oblong  chamber 
with  an  arched  doorway.  Galleries  about 
eight  feet  high  and  five  feet  wide  branch 
out  with  twists  and  turns  in  all  direc- 
tions, damp  and  black  in  their  darkness, 
the  passages  often  broadening  into  wide 
and  lofty  chambers,  containing  tombs, 
inscriptions,  and  even  frescoes  on  the 
walls,  and  when  examined  by  the  light  of  a  torch  are  seen  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Christians  during  the  persecutions  of  the  Church. 

At  the  head  of  the  Janiculan,  within  its  own  wall,  and  off  the  north-westerly  angle  of 
the  Tiber,  is  the  Borgo,  or  Leonine  city,  wherein  are  great  St.  Peter's  and  the  Castle  of 
St.  Angelo.  These  walls,  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  in  circumference,  were  begun 
in  846  by  Pope  Leo  IV.,  to  defend  St.  Peter's  against  the  Saracens,  and,  being  finished, 
were  consecrated  six  years  later,  "  by  avast  procession  of  the  whole  Roman  clergy,  bare- 
footed, with  their  heads  strewn  with  ashes."  In  about  the  center  of  this  inclosure  is  the 
basilica  of  St.  Peter,  the  most  famous  church  in  Christendom.  From  afar  its  great 
dome  attracts  the  eye,  and  under  its  enormous  wings  the  whole  city  seems  gathered  ; 


TOMBS,    IN    THE    CATACOMBS. 


224  Cities  of  the.  World. 

but  nearer  by  it  are  the  surroundings  that  attract  your  attention  more  than  the  church, 
itself.  Going  toward  it  from  the  east,  with  the  minor  church  and  a  great  hospital  on  either 
hand,  at  the  end  of  the  Piazza  Rusticucci,  is  the  opening  of  the  magnificent  semi-circu- 
lar colonnades,  which  branch  out  from  the  palace-like  fafade  and  majestic  dome  of  the 
mighty  church.  The  colonnades  are  supported  by  four  rows  of  columns,  inclosing  space 
enough  between  the  two  inner  rows  for  two  carriages  to  pass  abreast,  and  are  like  two 
sickles,  some  one  says,  with  the  straight  galleries  uniting  them  to  the  fafade  of  the  church 
for  handles.  Including  the  column  and  the  sculptured  entablatures  above  them,  these 
porticos  are  sixty-four  feet  high,  and  yet  every  thing  is  so  well  proportioned  in  correspond- 
ing colossal  size  that  "  from  the  center  of  the  Piazza,  the  whole  effect  is  light,  airy  and 
graceful  ;  under  any  circumstance  it  never  seems  crowded,  and  never  desolate." 
The  center  of  the  piazza,  or  the  vast  space  thus  inclosed,  is  marked  by  a  red 
granite  monument  called  the  Obelisk  of  the  Vatican.  This  was  brought  to  Rome 
from  Heliopolis  by  Emperor  Caligula ;  it  adorned  the  circus  of  Nero,  and  in 
1586  was  placed  in  front  of  St.  Peter's,  with  the  fountains  on  either  side.  There 
is  no  point  on  the  piazza  from  which  the  whole  of  the  sublime  proportions  of  the 
dome  can  be  seen  ;  and  as  you  walk  across  the  long  stretch  of  pavement,  fresh  with  the 
"  silver  spray  of  glittering  fountains,"  the  lofty  fafade  with  its  two  stories  and  attic,  its 
windows  and  nine  heavy  balconies,  "  awkwardly  intersecting  the  Corinthian  columns 
and  pilasters,"  is  not  majestic  and  imposing,  but  just  bunglingly  big.  A  broad  flight  of 
steps  that  lead  up  to  the  five  entrances  of  the  vestibule  are  adorned  with  statues  ;  the 
central  door  is  of  bronze,  made  for  the  old  basilica  that  stood  here  in  the  first  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  From  the  loggia  above  the  pope  gives  the  Eastern  benediction.  "  The 
vestibule  is  a  noble  and  spacious  building  in  itself.  Standing  in  the  middle,  a  vista  in 
architecture  of  more  than  two  hundred  feet,  on  either  hand,  is  open  to  the  eye,  set  with 
pieces  of  statuary  or  mosaics,  while  in  front  the  heavy  double  curtain  separates  you 
from  the  interior.  Beyond  the  curtain  St.  Peter's  is  "  resplendent  in  light,  magnificence 
and  beauty,  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  wonderful  works  of  man."  The  nave  does  not 
seem  over  six  hundred  feet  long  and  four  hundred  feet  high,  and  it  is  only  as  you  go 
through  it  step  by  step  that  you  half  realize  its  actual  beauty  and  extent.  The  grand 
central  nave,  with  its  arcades  on  either  side,  and  its  noble  roof,  is  shaped  like  a  semi- 
circular vault,  coffered  and  gilded  ;  and  below  it,  the  pavement  is  inlaid  with  colored 
marble,  and  on  all  sides  there  seems  no  limit  to  the  number  and  the  beauty  of  the 
statues  and  ornaments.  The  most  sacred  spot  in  the  church  is  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter,  at 
the  foot  of  a  double  flight  of  steps,  leading  from  the  ground  floor.  Attached  to  the 
balustrade,  a  circle  of  eighty-six  golden  lamps  is  always  burning  above  the  tomb  and 
close  to  the  high  altar,  which,  except  on  most  solemn  occasions,  when  the  pope  celebrates 
the  mass,  is  never  used  but  kept  covered  with  a  bronze  and  gilded  ornamented  canopy 
called  the  Baldacchino,  an  unsightly  thing,  beneath  the  truly  glorious  canopy  of  the 


SISTINE    CHAPEL. 


226  Cities  of  the   World. 

cupola.  Under  this  majestic  vault,  "  with  the  tribune  before  us,  and  the  transept  on 
either  hand,  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  sublime  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  ;  "  it  is  the 
Mount  Olympus  in  a  world  of  art,  for  all  around  the  main  body  of  the  church  are  side 
chapels,  splendid  in  themselves,  filled  with  pictures  and  statuary  and  any  of  them  large 
enough  to  serve  for  an  independent  church.  The  dome  of  St.  Peter's  is  double  ;  and 
between  the  outer  and  inner  wall  is  a  series  of  winding  passages  and  staircases,  by  which  the 
top  is  reached,  while  the  visitor  is  continually  filled  with  fresh  wonder  over  this  great  edifice. 
"From  the  galleries  inside  the  view  of  the  interior  below  is  most  striking,  "like  a  world  of 
tiny  people  moving  among  miniature  images  men  and  women  are  half  lost  in  immeasur- 
able depths  of  architecture,  almost  impossible  to  believe,  for  the  ascent  has  been  made  very 
gradually  on  the  paved  incline.  The  roof  of  the  church  is  like  a  small  village  with  its  domes 
and  workmen's  houses  ;  its  broad  walks,  a  playing  fountain  and  many  other  signs  of  life. 
Here  are  the  two  cupolas  that  flank  the  fagade  and  five  smaller  ones,  crowning  the 
chapels  "  like  dwarfs  clinging  about  a  giant's  knee."  There  is  a  railway — unseen  from 
below — running  around  the  base  of  the  ball  on  top  of  the  great  dome,  which  in  a  short 
time  affords  a  wonderful  view  of  Rome,  and  "the  Campagna,  the  Tiber,  the  distant 
Mediterranean,  the  Apennines,  the  Alban  Sabine  hills,  and  the  isolated  bulk  of  Soracte." 
Even  above  this  the  interior  of  the  ball  may  be  ascended,  and  still  further  an  outside 
ladder  leads  to  the  dizzy  height  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Adjoining  St.  Peter's  on  the 
upper  side  is  the  Vatican,  entered  through  the  magnificent  Scala  Regia,  or  Royal 
Staircase,  probably  the  finest  in  the  world.  Beyond  the  Swiss  guard  in  the  quaint 
picturesque  uniform  designed  for  them  by  Michael  Angelo,  at  the  great  bronze  doors 
lies  the  Sistine  Chapel,  celebrated  the  world  over  for  the  frescoes  of  Michael  Angelo. 
The  Vatican  comprises  the  palace  of  the  pope,  a  library  and  a  museum,  and  is  said  to 
contain  eleven  thousand  apartments.  The  small  portion  occupied  by  the  pope  is 
plain  and  in  all  things  lonesome  and  unprincely  ;  but  the  museum  of  art  is  the  finest  in 
the  world,  in  sculpture  surpassing  all  other  collections  put  together,  as  it  outrivals  every 
gallery  in  containing  among  its  paintings  the  greatest  works  in  fresco  of  those  two 
masters,  superlative  Raffaelle  and  Michael  Angelo.  The  Vatican  gardens  cover  almost 
one-quarter  of  the  Borgo  within  the  north-western  wall ;  it  is  a  common  saying  in  Rome 
that  the  Vatican  with  its  gardens  and  St.  Peter's  occupies  as  much  space  as  the  city  of 
Turin.  The  broad  street  that  leads  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  leads  to  the  St.  Angelo 
bridge  also,  and  so  away  from  the  solemn  to  the  busy  and  lively  Rome  once  more.  "  The 
castle  of  St.  Angelo  is  but  the  skeleton  of  the  magnificent  tomb  that  was  built  by  the 
Emperor  Hadrian,  because  the  last  niche  in  the  imperial  mausoleum  of  Augustus 
was  filled  when  the  ashes  of  Nerva  were  laid  there."  Between  the  Tiber  and  the 
Corso,  the  most  interesting  place  is  the  Piazza  Navona,  an  irregular  shaped  square  about 
eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  in  width,  with  an 
immense  fountain  in  the  center,  and  several  others  standing  about,  out  of  which  the 


Rome. 


227 


pure  and  abundant  water  gushes,  which  is  so  important  a  feature  of  all  Rome.  Once 
a  week  a  vegetable  market  is  held  in  this  Piazza  attended  by  the  country  people 
from  the  neighborhood  in  their  picturesque  costumes.  Shops  and  stalls  for  the  sale 
of  all  sorts  of  second  hand  articles  fill  every  available  space  and  display  quantities 
of  broken  pottery,  old  iron,  and  a  great  variety  of  other  trash,  among 
more  pretentious  stores.  These  make  little  effort  toward  outside  show,  but  within  con- 
tain great  bargains  in  pictures,  engravings, 
cameos,  antique  gems  and  such  things.  On 
Saturdays  and  Sundays  in  the  month  of  August 
the  sluices  which  carry  off  the  waters  of  the 
great  fountain  are  stopped,  and  all  the  central 
portions  of  the  Piazza  are  overflowed  to  the 
depth  of  one  or  two  feet.  This  temporary  lake 
is  immediately  the  liveliest  place  in  the  vicinity  ; 
horses,  oxen  and  donkeys  are  driven  into  the 
cooling  waters  ;  vehicles  of  all  kinds,  from  the 
stately  coach  of  a  Roman  principe  to  the  clumsy 
wagon  of  a  contadino,  roll  through  them  ;  and 
boys  with  bare  feet  and  rolled  up  trowsers  splash 
their  elders  with  noisy  satisfaction  ;  while  the 
outer  margin  of  the  Piazza,  not  reached  by  the 
water,  and  especially  the  capacious  steps  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Agnes,  are  occupied  by  crowds  of 
idlers ;  the  windows  of  the  shops  and  houses 
are  filled  with  gay  faces  and  bright  dresses  ;  and 
altogether  the  sight  is  one  to  be  marked  with  a 
red  letter  in  any  one's  memory  of  Rome.  About 
midway  between  the  Piazza  Navona  and  the 
Corso,  with  streets  leading  directly  to  each,  is  the 
Pantheon,  the  most  perfect  pagan  building  in 
the  city.  It  was  built  twenty-seven  years  before 
Christ  as  a  heathen  temple  ;  but  in  A.D.  608 
was*  consecrated  as  a  Christian  church.  "  Its 
majestic  pillared  portico  and  huge  black  rotunda,  stand  almost  at  the  central  point  of 
the  labyrinthine  intricacies  of  the  modern  city,"  a  stately,  unornamented,  time-stained 
edifice  three  stories  high,  and  crowned  by  a  dome  that  has  been  the  model  of  the 
best  temples  in  the  world  ever  since, — St.  Peter's  across  the  river,  St.  Sophia's  at 
Constantinople  and  many  others  less  famous.  The  open  portico  is  borne  by  lofty 
columns  and  divides  the  temple  into  three  naves,  with  great  niches  around  the 


PEASANT    CHILDREN. 


228  Cities  of  the   World. 

walls  once  containing  statues  of  different  gods  and  goddesses.  "The  world  has 
nothing  else  like  the  Pantheon.  So  grand  it  is  that  the  pasteboard  statues  over 
the  lofty  cornice  do  not  disturb  the  effect  any  more  than  the  tin  crowns  and  hearts, 
the  dusty  artificial  flowers  and  all  manner  of  trumpery  gewgaws  hanging  at  the  saintly 
shrines.  The  rust  and  dinginess  that  have  dimmed  the  precious  marble  on  the  walls  ; 
the  pavement,  with  its  great  squares  and  rounds  of  porphyry  and  granite,  cracked  cross- 
wise and  in  a  hundred  directions,  showing  how  roughly  the  troublesome  ages  have 
trampled  here  ;  the  gray  dome  above,  with  its  opening  to  the  sky,  all  these  things  make 
an  impression  of  solemnity,  which  St.  Peter's  itself  fails  to  produce." 

These  austere,  sublime  monuments  of  the  great  city  are  in  the  strongest  contrast  with 
the  inhabitants  ;  the  richness  and  splendor  are  vanished  from  the  temples,  but  the  love  of 
it  remains  with  the  people.  You  see  it  in  their  dress  and  in  all  their  customs.  "  On  all 
holiday  occasions  they  hang  out  from  their  windows  strips  of  bright-colored  cloth.  They 
take  great  pleasure  in  illuminations,  torch-light  processions,  and  especially  in  fire-works, 
— which  are  nowhere  more  perfect — even  the  fuuerals  share  it  ;  those  of  distinguished 
people  taking  place  at  night,  illuminated  by  torches  and  attended  by  solemn  music  and 
trains  of  ecclesiastics."  Once  a  year  for  eleven  days  just  preceding  Ash  Wednesday 
this  love  of  gayety  and  show  reaches  a  climax  in  the  Carnival,  and  altogether  transforms 
the  Corso  and  streets"  close  to  it.  Added  to  the  overhanging  balconies — built  on  purpose 
for  this  festival — that  permanently  line  the  lofty  buildings,  temporary  structures  of  wood 
fill  every  available  place  ;  thus  the  already  narrow  space — for  the  Corso  only  averages 
about  thirty-five  feet  in  width — is  made  still  smaller.  They  are  filled  with  gayly  dressed 
and  animated  people,  mostly  women — who  have  secured  their  places  at  unmentionable 
prices  some  time  before,  and  intend  to  have  the  full  worth  of  their  money  in  fun.  "  The 
street  below  is  filled  by  two  rows  of  carriages  slowly  moving  in  opposite  directions  and 
filled  with  gay  occupants,  while  there  is  a  motley  crowd  on  foot  of  men  and  boys,  with  a 
few  women,  some  with  masks  and  some  without,  but  all  engaged  in  the  common  occupa- 
tion of  pelting  one  another.  Here  the  lowest  ragamuffins  in  Rome  or  a  milord  from  En- 
gland crowd  each  other  in  the  utmost  good  nature,  each  perhaps  with  the  same  object  in 
view  of  attracting  the  attention  of  the  pretty  young  ladies  in  some  balcony,  half  hidden 
among  the  gay  streamers  of  red,  yellow  or  blue  that  flutter  among  the  heavier  pieces  of 
vivid  colors  comprising  the  balcony  canopy  or  hanging  from  the  windows  adjacent.  Most 
of  the  fun  is  in  pelting  one  another  ;  for  this  there  are  three  kinds  of  missiles.  First  come 
the  confetti,  or  little  pea-sized  bits  of  lime,  which  are  hurled  by  hand  or  with  a  kind  of 
pea-shooter,  or,  when  the  fun  grows  more  hilarious,  are  sent  in  little  dipperfuls,  while  the 
gay  antagonist  holds  a  wire  screen  ready  to  protect  his  or  her  face  from  the  return  volley. 
But  confetti-throwing  is  but  the  first  stage  of  the  fun,  and  is  soon  supplanted  by  coriandali, 
or  missiles  of  flowers  and  bon-bons.  For  many  days  before  the  Carnival  opens  load  after 
load  of  flowers  are  brought  into  the  city,  and  with  them  the  attentions  of  the  Carnival 


Rome. 


229 


partakers  begin.  There  are  bouquets  of  all  prices  and  description,  some  of  them  marvels 
of  flower  structures,  often  crowned  with  a  living  bird  whose  legs  and  wings  are  impris- 
oned in  flowery  bands.  The  candies  are  also  of  all  varieties  and  qualities,  sometimes 
put  up  in  boxes  and  cones  of  gilded  paper.  Much  of  the  cheap  sugar  plums 
with  which  the  gay  companies  pelt  each  other  "  fall  upon  the  pavement,  and  are 
eagerly  scrambled  tor  by  the  ingenuous  youth  of  Rome,  who  dart  in  and  out  under  the 
wheels  of  carriages  and  the  hoofs  of  horses  with  a  courage  worthy  of  a  better  cause." 
The  sport  begins  at  about  two  o'clock  on  each  day,  Sundays  and  Fridays  excepted  ; 
then  the  fast-filling  balconies  and  the  two  straight  lines  of  carriages  begin  to  gather  into 
one  dense  mass  of  animation  ;  some  of  course  are  only  lookers-on  ;  but  the  majority  are 
there  for  the  fun,  and  many  appear  in  plain  dress,  or  in  fancy  or  grotesque  costumes, 
and  borne  upon  all  kinds  of  devices  on  wheels.  Now  a  ship  with  showy  sailors  passes 
a  rainbow-like  balcony  full  of  pretty  girls  ;  and  what  a  shower  there  is  of  sugar-plums  and 
bouquets.  One  young  lady  by  her  looks  or  graceful  movements  attracts  particular  at- 
tention. "  Bella"  some  one  cries  ;  "  beautiful,  most  beautiful,"  others  shout,  and  for  a 
time  the  gayety  of  the  neighborhood  will  center  at  that  one  particular  balcony,  from 
which  and  to  which  will  rain  and  hail  the  greatest  quantity  of  bouquets,  bonbonnieres  and 
unique  favors  ;  while  a  pretty  play  of  funny  maneuvers  keeps  all  the  neighborhood  in 
shouts  of  merriment.  Then  the  ship  sails  on,  an  ordinary  carriage,  an  open  platform  or 
a  moving  festival  takes  up  the  merry  war,  and  carries  it  along  from  one  balcony  to  an- 
other, or  extending  it  to  carriages  on  the  opposite  line.  Nearly  all  are  grown  up  men 
and  women,  behaving  like  a  jolly  crowd  of  boys  and  girls.  At  five  o'clock  the  Corso  is 
cleared  for  the  horses,  mounted  dragoons  appear,  and  the  carriages  turn  off  into  the 
side  streets  ;  after  none  but  foot  passengers  are  left  a  detachment  of  cavalry  moves  slow- 
ly down  the  Corso  and  returns  on  a  brisk  trot.  In  the  Piazza  del  Populo,  but  a  short  time 
before  filled  with  the  brilliant  equipages  of  the  proud  Romans  who  disdained  the  carnival, 
a  great  crowd  of  spectators  fill  the  ampitheater  of  temporary  seats  and  look  down  into 
the  Corso.  In  front  of  these  the  horses  are  rearing  and  snorting  with  impatience  to  be 
let  go.  When  the  center  of  the  street  is  cleared  each  horse  is  led  up  by  a  showily- 
dressed  groom,  who  lets  go  at  the  given  signal,  and  the  splendid  animals  rush  down  the 
narrow  Corso  without  any  riders,  goaded  on  by  sharp  pointed  leaden  balls  in  their  trap- 
pings. The  people,  like  a  vast  sea,  break  away  before  the  horses  and  close  in  behind 
them,  taking  eager  interest  in  the  result,  which  is  declared  by  the  judges,  who  sit  in  the 
temporary  seats  in  the  Piazza  Veneziana,  when  the  horses  bring  up  at  the  other  end  of 
the  Corso.  This  closes  the  out-door  amusement  of  the  Carnival  ;  the  streets  become  as 
quiet  as  usual,  and  the  sport  is  continued  by  the  peasants  and  lower  classes  and  people  at  the 
shows  in  the  Piazza  Navona,  where  the  beautiful  square  is  brilliantly  lighted  and  is 
thoroughly  thronged  in  every  part  and  at  every  booth  ;  but  most  of  all  at  the  lottery 
booths,  "  for  lotteries  to  the  Italian  are  what  opium  is  to  the  Chinaman,  the  strongest 


230 


Cities  of  the   World. 


appetite  of  his  nature."  A  multitude  of  interesting  sights,  day  and  night,  belong  to  the 
Carnival  season  ;  there  are  the  picturesque  peasant  dances  in  the  city  squares  ;  the  brilliant 
receptions  ;  and  the  balls,  especially  the  masked  balls,  which  really  "  cap  the  climax  "  of 
the  festivities.  The  public  masked  balls  are  given  at  the  two  principal  theaters,  the 
Apollo  and  the  Costanzi,  where  prizes  are  given  for  the  best  masks  ;  and  the  scene  is 
one  of  many  beautiful  faces  among  the  grotesque  false  ones,  graceful  forms  and  gay 
colors,  winding  in  and  out  to  the  sound  of  dance  music. 

The  trade  of  Rome  is  insignificant ;  the   manufacturers   are  all  small   and  supply 


BAY    OF    NAPLES. 

cheap,  unimportant  articles,  such  as  hats,  silk  scarfs,  gloves,  artificial  feathers,  false  pearls, 
trinkets,  and  other  things  to  attract  the  fancy  of  artists  and  visitors.  There  are  three  hun- 
dred thousand  people  in  the  city,  a  large  number  of  which  are  artists,  while  another  great 
class  are  beggars.  In  population  the  Eternal  City  now  stands  third  in  Italy,  while  Naples 
takes  the  lead  in  size  as  it  does  also  in  beauty.  A  common  Italian  saying  is,  "  See  Naples 
and  then  die,"  and  true  it  is  that  the  earth  scarcely  has  a  more  lovely  scene  than  the  white 
and  terraced  crescent  of  the  city  stretched  along  a  winding  coast  of  the  magnificent  sea 


Naples.  231 

and  over  the  spurs  of  a  range  of  semi-circular  hills,  commanded  by  rugged  heights  ; 
fertile  plains  and  vine-clad  slopes  lie  around  and  beyond,  all  under  the  glow  or  solemn 
shadow  of  old  Vesuvius.  "  The  extieme  points  of  the  two  projecting  arms  which  in- 
close the  bay  on  the  north-west  and  south-east  are  about  twenty  miles  distant  from  each 
other  in  a  straight  line,  similar  in  shape  and  character.  The  southern  promontory  stretches 
further  out  to  sea  ;  but  the  island  of  Ischia  corresponds  to  this  on  the  north,  being  much 
larger  and  further  from  the  land  than  its  southern  sister  Capri.  The  cliffs  that  line  the  tide- 
less  shore  are  often  crowned  and  draped  with  luxuriant  vegetation  ;  on  numberless  points 
stand  villas,  monasteries  and  houses  linked  together  by  a  glowing  succession  of  orange 
groves,  vineyards,  orchards  and  gardens.  Of  all  this  fertile  and  populous  shore,  swarm- 
ing everywhere  with  life  and  glittering  with  dwellings,  Naples  is  the  core."  Although 
this  is  a  city  where  "  the  sun  shines  his  brightest,  and  the  zephyrs  blow  their  softest ;  the 
sea  is  of  the  deepest  blue  and  the  mountains  the  most  glorious  purple,  with  the  finest 
fish,  sweetest  fruit  and  best  game,  Naples  is  still  an  ill-built,  ill-paved,  ill-lighted,  ill- 
drained,  ill- watched,  ill-governed  and  ill-ventilated  city,"  whose  narrow,  crowded,  dirty 
streets,  with  scarcely  any  sidewalk,  and  only  lava-paved  roadways,  with  their  balconies 
almost  meeting  overhead,  have  nothing  imposing,  or  striking,  except  the  smells.  One 
magnificent  museum  contains  a  great  collection  of  ancient  art  works  and  curiosities  from 
Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  and  the  theater  of  San  Carlo  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  world.  There  are  several  interesting  ancient  castles  here,  many  palaces,  more 
than  three  hundred  churches,  several  colleges  and  libraries,  and  a  very  fine  aquarium. 
But  none  of  these  are  so  interesting  as  the  people  of  Naples,  especially  along  the  sea- 
shore. 

All  along  the  quays  are  rows  of  wooden  counters  or  tables  stand  covered  with 
fish,  oysters,  and  mussels,  and  protected  from  the  sun  by  an  awning  slanting  down 
toward  the  rear.  Fruit,  roasted  chestnuts,  and  other  things  to  eat  are  offered  for  sale 
by  the  market  women  in  their  quaint  costumes.  Boats,  rowed  by  scantily  dressed  men 
in  red  caps,  are  constantly  putting  off  and  coming  in  with  their  loads  of  passengers  or 
goods  for  the  strange  little  chaises  that  roll  up  and  down  or  stand  about  in  great  num- 
bers hitched  to  their  small  but  fast  going  single  horse.  The  quays,  like  the  open  squares 
and  one  or  two  of  the  streets  that  are  broad  enough,  are  filled  with  a  moving  and  ever 
changing  and  interesting  crowd.  Now  it  is  a  group  around  some  Improvisator,  listening 
with  delight  to  the  ragged  reciter  of  whole  cantos  of  Orlando  Furioso  ;  again  it  is  some 
Policinella,  whose  antics  form  the  attraction.  Under  the  arcades  of  the  Piazza  del  Muni- 
cipio,  a  "  Public  Letter  Writer "  is  bending  over  his  task.  Notwithstanding  that  there 
must  be  some  grounds  for  the  general  belief  that  all  Neapolitans  are  lazy,  the  most  reli- 
able travelers  say  that  it  is  as  busy  and  industrious  looking  as  any  town  in  Europe.  Yet 
it  manages  to  have  a  good  many  idlers  ;  for  one  thing  it  is  over  populated  ;  five  hundred 
thousand  people  being  more  than  it  can  keep  occupied,  and  as  their  support  costs  next 


232  Cities  of  the    World. 

to  nothing,  very  many  are  not  at  all  backward  in  accepting  a  large  portion  of  nothing 
for  their  allowance.  These  make  up,  not  the  largest  class  of  Neapolitans,  perhaps, 
but  certainly  the  best  known  to  foreigners, — "  careless  and  idle  ;  good  natured  and 
thieving  ;  kind  hearted  and  lying ;  always  laughing  except  if  thwarted,  when  they 
will  stab  their  best  friend  without  a  pang."  Whole  families  live  huddled  together 
without  cleanliness  or  decency,  and  the  air  resounds  at  once  with  blows  and  cries, 
singing  and  laughter.  There  are  thousands  who  consider  a  dish  of  beans  at  mid- 
day to  be  sumptuous  fare,  while  the  horrible  condiment  called  Pizza — made  of  dough 
baked  with  garlic,  rancid  bacon,  and  strong  cheese — is  esteemed  a  feast.  Every  one  in 
the  town  who  is  not  working,  and  as  many  as  possible  of  those  who  are,  spend  the  day 
in  the  open  air,  encumbering  the  narrow  streets  with  their  chairs,  lathes,  carpenters' 
tables,  or  cobblers'  stalls.  Every  body  seems  to  be  amused,  and  occupies  himself  in 
amusing  his  neighbors.  He  feels  himself  to  be  in  the  happiest  place  in  the  world  and 
holds  a  poor  opinion  of  most  other  lands.  The  Lazzaroni,  once  a  common  sight  in 
Naples,  lounging  about  half-clad,  are  gone  now,  with  many  other  "institutions"  that 
belonged  to  the  city  before  the  present  government.  Although  the  new  government's 
improvements  have  caused  some  serious  losses  to  the  beauty  and  attraction  of  Naples,  it 
has  done  considerable  good  too  ;  it  has  opened  the  noble  terrace  of  the  Corso  Vittorio 
Emanuele,  where  the  fine  Hotel  Bristol  stands,  and  a  glorious  view  is  given  of  the  town 
and  bay  below.  Above  is  the  old  fortress  of  St.  Elmo,  now  used  as  a  prison,  and  near  that 
the  ancient  convent  of  St.  Martin,  which  is  now  being  altered  for  a  National  Museum 
and  Library.  Most  of  the  better  classes  of  Neapolitans  are  poor  nobles,  whose  motto  is 
"  all  for  show."  They  are  fond  of  bright  colors  in  their  dress  ;  soldiers  in  gay  uniforms  ; 
and  wherever  they  can,  Neapolitans  display  all  the  richness  and  splendor  possible,  some- 
times at  the  sacrifice  of  a  good  many  everyday  comforts.  The  nobles  are  often  of 
worthless  character,  lazy,  fond  of  gambling,  and  making  no  pretense  of  following  a  pro- 
fession. The  manufacturing  class  is  comparatively  small,  and  are  engaged  in  making 
macaroni  and  vermicelli,  which  are  the  principal  food  of  the  poor  people  in  Italy,  and 
are  sent  from  Naples  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Among  the  other  manufactories  the 
principal  things  made  are  silk  cloth,  carpets,  glass,  perfumery,  porcelain,  and  glass. 

Milan,  the  second  city  of  Italy,  is  in  the  northern  part  ;  it  stands  in  the  Lombard 
plain  below  the  Alps,  and  is  the  center  of  the  country's  inland  trade.  It  is  also  a  very 
pleasant  city,  with  its  broad  streets  lined  with  fine  buildings  on  either  side.  Although 
it  is  not  a  desirable  place  of  residence,  as  the  summers  are  extremely  warm,  and  the 
winters  severely  cold,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  live  here  ;  the 
most  thickly  settled  part  is  surrounded  by  a  canal,  and  outside  of  that,  inclosing  the 
suburbs,  is  a  wall  with  twelve  gates.  The  great  center  of  interest  at  Milan  must  always 
be  its  glorious  Gothic  cathedral.  It  is  built  of  brick  covered  with  marble.  One  part 
after  another  having  been  added  at  so  many  different  times  the  marble  is  of  many 


Milan.  233 

shades,  and  its  walls  are  so  covered  that  its  great  extent  may  best  be  measured  by  the 
roof,  although  even  this  is  overpowering  with  "  rich  ornaments,  delicately  carved  flying 
buttresses,  and  a  wilderness  of  pinnacles."  The  niches  and  spires  are  occupied  by 
about  three  thousand  marble  statues,  making  the  exterior  seem  at  a  little  distance  "  like 
a  piece  of  jeweler's  work  magnified  a  million  of  times."  It  is  like  being  in  another  world 
to  walk  among  these  statues  on  the  roof — this  quiet  marble  assembly — this 

"  aerial  host 
Of  figures  human  and  divine." 

From  the  gallery  of  the  octagon  tower  above  there  is  a  living  picture  before  you  of  the  fair 
broad  plains  of  Lombardy,  glittering  with  towns  and  villages  closed  in  on  the  north  and 
west  by  the  eternal  snows  of  the  Alps.  The  first  appearance  of  the  interior  is  most  strik- 
ing— the  great  height  of  the  pillars,  their  exquisitely  sculptured  capitals,  the  great  solem- 
nity and  the  rich  effect  of  light  which  streams  in  from  the  upper  windows  upon  the  golden 
pulpits  at  the  entrance  of  the  choir  form  a  picture  to  be  revisited  again  and  again. 
A  far  older  church  than  the  cathedral,  and  in  many  things  the  most  remarkable 
in  Milan,  is  the  Church  of  St.  Ambrogio,  which  is  named  after  its  founder,  who 
dedicated  it  to  All  Saints  in  387.  The  exterior,  of  red  brick  with  stone  pillars  and  arches, 
is  highly  picturesque.  On  the  north  is  a  fine  colonnaded  portico,  and  the  atrium  or 
vestibule  is  surrounded  by  open  arches,  with  ancient  inscriptions,  altars  and  fragments 
of  carving  filling  the  arcades."  Many  very  interesting  and  valuable  relics  and  works  of 
art  are  kept  within,  and  besides  these  and  the  beauty  of  the  church  itself,  it  is  famous  as 
being  the  place  where  St.  Augustine  was  baptized  and  where  the  grand  and  familiar 
anthem  of  the  Te  Deum  was  first  recited  by  Ambrose  and  Augustine  as  they  advanced 
to  the  altar. 

Among  many  other  great  and  venerable  churches  in  Milan,  are  those  of  St.  Eustorgio, 
the  beautiful  Maria  delle  Grazie,  which  was  built  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  adjoins 
the  convent,  where,  in  the  old  Refectory,  is  the  most  famous  picture  in  the  world, 
the  "  Last  Supper  "  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

Behind  this  church,  occupying  a  large  palace,  entered  on  the  other  side,  is  the 
celebrated  Ambrosian  Library,  founded  in  1609  by  the  then  Archbishop  of  Milan. 
Beside  some  of  the  most  valuable  and  most  ancient  of  vellums  and  manuscripts,  the 
Library  has  a  fine  picture  gallery  of  some  of  the  old  Italian  masters. 

The  largest  gallery  in  the  city  is  the  Brera  in  an  old  Jesuit  palace,  also  occupied  by 
a  scientific  institute,  a  library,  a  museum  of  coins  and  medals  and  an  archaeological  mu- 
seum. 

In  visiting  all  these  and  the  countless  other  sights  of  Milan,  the  great  square  called 
Cathedral  Square  would  become  very  familiar,  and  here,  if  any  where,  you  would  occa- 
sionally see  "  nurses  and  peasant  women,  with  the  picturesque  national  head-dress  of 
silver  pins  arranged  in  a  circle  like  rays  of  the  sun,"  once  characteristic  of  the  city. 


234  Cities  of  the   World. 

Here  is  the  entrance  to  the  Gallery  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  which  is  the  handsomest  and 
loftiest  arcade  of  shops  in  the  world.  The  houses  are  eighty  feet  high,  covered  in  with 
glass  the  entire  height,  and  occupied  by  such  brilliant  stores  and  restaurants  that  in  the 
evening  when  it  is  lighted  up,  and  filled  with  people  walking  or  sitting  under  the  cafes, 
it  looks  like  an  immense  ball-room.  The  other  entrance  is  on  the  Piazza  della  Scala, 
and  faces  the  magnificent  theater  of  La  Scala,  which  is  large  enough  to  hold  nearly  four 
thousand  people.  San  Carlos  at  Naples  is  the  only  finer  one  in  Italy. 

Toward  the  westward  from  Milan  is  Turin,  which  though  next  in  population  to 
Rome,  is  said  to  cover  less  ground  than  the  Borgo. 

Turin  is  now  one  of  the  most  prosperous  of  European  cities  ;  it  is  regularly  built 
like  an  American  city,  with  long  straight  streets,  traversing  it  from  end  to  end,  and 
each  at  right  angles  with  its  neighbor.  Many  of  the  streets  are  lined  with  colonnades 
which  form  a  pleasant  shade  from  the  scorching  sun  in  summer  ;  those  near  the  palace 
being  a  favorite  resort  for  the  fashionable  people,  are  crowded  after  sunset,  with  stylish 
civilians  and  showily  dressed  officers.  The  streets,  in  spite  of  their  regularity  have  a 
picturesqueness  of  their  own  from  the  richness  with  which  the  palaces  are  decorated,  and 
the  ever  present  arcades.  While  the  bitter  Alpine  winds  make  it  piteously  cold  in  win- 
ter, in  summer  it  is  a  very  attractive  place,  especially  by  the  river  Po,  among  the  beauti- 
ful wooded  hills  on  the  further  bank  or  in  the  charming  walks  of  the  Public  Garden, 
near  the  palace  of  //  Valentino.  From  the  station  the  Via  Roma  leads  into  the  heart  of 
the  town,  passing  through  the  Piazza  St.  Carlo,  surrounded  by  open  colonnades  filled 
with  book  stalls,  and  ending  in  the  square  occupied  by  the  old  castle  of  Turin,  called  the 
Palazzo  Madama,  or  the  palace  of  the  Queen  Mother.  Its  high  tiled  roofs  are  crowded 
with  chimneys,  rich  fragments  of  terra  cotta  cornice,  and  four  clumsy  brick  towers,  two 
of  which  are  somewhat  modern  and  two  very  quaint  and  perforated  with  holes,  which 
with  the  other  nooks  and  corners  are  always  crowded  with  birds. 

Behind  the  castle  the  handsome  modern  palace  and  the  cathedral  tower  rise.  The 
armory,  which  is  one  of  the  few  places  of  real  interest  in  Turin,  is  in  the  wing  of  the 
Palace,  although  the  Egyptian  Museum,  the  Pinacotfaa  or  picture  gallery,  and  some  of 
the  other  collections  in  the  Academy  of  Sciences  are  said  to  be  fine.  "  The  avenue 
along  the  river-side  leads  to  the  Public  Gardens,  where,  beside  the  dressed  walks,  there  is 
a  park  of  elm  and  chestnut  glades,  with  wide,  green  lawns  undulating  to  the  water's  side, 
and  lovely  views  up  the  still  reaches  of  the  river,  fringed  with  tufted  foliage  which  is  re- 
flected in  its  water  ;  or  into  bosky  valleys  and  the  hills  on  the  opposite  bank,  with  old 
turreted  villas  and  convents  rising  on  the  different  heights  and  looking  down  into  the 
luxuriance  of  wood  and  vineyard  lying  between.  Beyond  all  rises  the  great  church  of 
La  Superga  on  its  blue  height,  and  pleasure-boats  with  white  sails  or  striped  awnings, 
give  constant  life  to  the  scene.  At  the  end  of  the  gardens,  where  they  melt  into  the 
open  hay  fields — completely  in  the  country  though  so  close  to  the  town — the  grand 


Palermo.  235 

old  Palace  of  //  Valentino  rises  from  the  river  bank.  It  is  of  rich  red  stone,  with 
high  pitched  roofs,  tall  chimneys,  and  heavy  cornices.  In  view  of  all  this  those  who 
see  Turin  in  May  when  the  white  and  crimson  chestnuts  are  in  bloom,  can  not  fail 
to  call  it  a  picture  of  perfect  Italian  loveliness." 

In  the  number  of  inhabitants — two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand — Turin's  twin  city 
in  Italy  is  Palermo,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island  of  Sicily.  The  situation  of 
Palermo  is  wonderfully  beautiful,  surrounded  by  a  vast  garden  of  orange  and  olive  trees 
which  fill  the  Conca  d'Oro  or  Golden  Shell,  as  the  lovely  plain  is  called  which  is  bounded 
by  the  red  crags  of  Monte  Pellegrino  on  the  west,  and  the  wooded  Capo  Zafferano  on 
the  east,  and  backed  by  Monte  Griffone  and  other  dark  mountains  of  rugged  outline. 
"  The  hills  on  either  hand  descend  upon  the  sea  with  long-drawn  delicately  broken  and 
exquisitely  tinted  outlines." 

"  Within  the  cradle  of  these  hills  and  close  upon  the  tideless  water,  lies  the  city," 
with  a  few  great  streets  running  across  a  labyrinth  of  alleys.  "  The  main  street,  like  all 
the  main  streets  of  Italian  towns,  is  the  Corso  Vittorio  Emanuele;  the  houses  for  the  most 
part  are  stately,  with  bold  cornices  and  innumerable  iron  balconies.  The  ground  floors 
are  almost  always  used  for  the  mean-looking  shops,  of  which  the  fronts,  eastern  fashion, 
are  generally  an  open  arch.  The  first  floor  is  the  piano  noblle  or  family  residence  ;  the 
second  and  third  floor  are  usually  let  as  lodgings  ;  wooden  lattices,  too,  are  often  seen, 
belonging  to  convents  frequently  far  in  the  background,  but  arranged  to  allow  the  nuns, 
themselves  unseen,  to  look  down  on  all  that  is  going  on.  Here  and  there  a  church 
breaks  the  line  of  houses,  plain  enough  outside,  but  within  covered  with  Sicilian  jaspers, 
of  which  there  are  fifty-four  varieties — rich  to  a  fault."  The  palaces  and  even  more  par- 
ticularly the  churches  of  Palermo  are  very  fine. 

Next  in  size  to  these  come  another  pair  of  cities.  Florence,  in  the  upper  part  of 
central  Italy  and  Genoa,  the  Mediterranean  port  and  fortress  for  the  north,  each  with 
about  two  hundred  thousand  people. 

"Of  all  the  fairest  cities  of  the  earth, 
None  is  so  fair  as  Florence 
*  *     Search  within, 

Without ;  all  is  enchantment!    'Tis  the  Past 
Contending  with  the  Present  ;  and  in  turn 
Each  has  the  mastery." 

So,  many  writers,  in  verse  and  in  prose,  have  celebrated  the  City  of  Flowers  and 
Botany  Bay  of  society.  Like  most  of  the  Italian  cities  its  beauty  is  more  in  the  situation 
and  surroundings  than  the  city  itself.  It  stands  at  the  central  point  in  that  basin  of  the 
Arno  which  extends  from  Arezzo  to  Pisa,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  high  plain  with  picturesque 
swells  of  land  all  about  it.  "  The  radiant  loveliness  of  this  country  renders  Florence  the 


236 


Cities  of  the  World. 


most  delightful  of  all  Italian  cities  for  a  spring  residence,  and  no  one  who  has  once  seen 
the  glorious  luxuriance  of  the  flowers  which  cover  the  fields  and  gardens,  and  lie  in 
masses  for  sale  on  the  broad  gray  basements  of  its  old  palaces,  can  ever  forget  them." 
Firenze  la  bella,  Florence  the  beautiful,  the  Florentines  call  their  beloved  city  ;  nor  is 
this  confined  to  the  distant  view  ;  the  walks,  the  gardens,  the  palaces,  and  their  superb 
galleries  are  in  themselves  beautiful  enough  to  enrich  a  dozen  ordinary  cities.  The  gal- 
leries and  museums  are  due  for 
the  most  part  to  the  Medici  family, 
who  were  the  first  rulers  after 
Florentia — the  flourishing — ceased 
to  be  a  republic.  After  the 
Medici,  the  Austrian  Grand  Dukes 
encouraged  art  and  beauty  in  the 
city,  so  that  even  now,  more  than 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
the  fall  of  the  city's  independence, 
it  contains  great  palaces  filled  with 
inexhaustible  treasures,  suited  to 
almost  every  taste.  "  Other, 
though  not  many,  cities  have  his- 
tories as  noble,  treasures  as  vast, 
but  no  other  city  has  them  living 
and  even  present  in  her  midst, 
familiar  as  household  words,  and 
touched  by  every  baby's  hand  and 
peasant's  step,  as  Florence  has." 
The  city  lies  mainly  on  the  up- 
per bank  of  the  Arno  ;  its  streets 
are  generally  narrow,  running  be- 
tween massive  and  rather  gloomy 
buildings,  and  past  church  fronts, 
often  unfinished.  Avenues  run 
along  the  quays,  and  in  irreg- 
ular stripes  through  the  heart  of  the 


THE    LEANING    TOWER,    PISA. 


city.  Most  of  the  celebrated  palaces  are  near  the  center  of  town,  mainly  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  famous  Lung'  Arno,  where  the  houses  rising  out  of  the  river  are  "  bright  with  soft 
tints  of  color,  irregular,  picturesque,  various,  with  roofs  at  every  possible  elevation,  the 
outline  broken  by  loggias,  balconies,  projecting  walls,  quaint  cupolas  and  spires  ;  the 
stream  flowing  full  below,  reflecting  the  whole  picture  even  to  the  clouds  on  the  blue 


LOGGIA    DE    LANZI. 


238  Cities  of  the   World. 

over-arching  sky."  Almost  on  the  quay  is  the  celebrated  Uffizi  Palace,  with  its  stately 
porticos  and  open  arches  toward  the  river,  set  with  great  Florentine  heroes  in  marble  ; 
above,  story  after  story  rises  in  massive  stately  beauty,  stretching  on  to  the  Piazza  of  the 
Signoria,  to  the  Vecchio  Palace,  with  its  "  enormous  projecting  battlements  and  lofty 
square  bell  tower  stuck  upon  the  walls  in  defiance  of  proportion,  partly  overhanging 
them."  Uffizi  is  an  immense  palace  over  three  hundred  years  old,  and  filled  with  most 
precious  books,  letters,  and  papers  in  the  library,  paintings,  statuary,  and  other  riches  in 
the  corridors,  halls,  and,  above  all,  in  the  famous  Tribune.  This  is  an  eight-sided 
room,  about  twenty  feet  across.  The  floor  is  paved  with  rich  marbles,  and  the  vaulted 
ceiling  is  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  The  light,  which  comes  from  above,  falls  on  some 
of  the  most  remarkable  works  of  art  ever  produced.  Here  are  the  beautiful  Venus  de 
Medici,  the  Knife  Grinder,  the  Dancing  Faun,  and  other  sculptures  known  by  name  and 
by  copies  all  over  the  world  ;  on  the  walls  are  hung  paintings  of  the  great  masters,  Raphael, 
Titian,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Correggio.  The  Palazzo  Vecchio  della  Signoria  was  built  in 
1298.  A  magnificent  staircase  leads  from  the  court  up  to  the  vast  hall  in  which  Savona- 
rola met  with  the  citizens  in  his  earnestness  to  restore  their  ancient  liberties  ;  from  the 
tower  you  see  the  prison  of  the  great  Florentine  reformer,  and  every  step  you  take  from 
the  vestibule  to  the  halls,  through  all  the  corridors,  and  even  into  the  beautiful,  solemn  little 
colonnaded  inner  court,  is  upon  historic  ground.  If  you  are  acquainted  with  the  city's 
history,  there  is  not  a  spot  that  will  not  remind  you  of  the  events  that  took  place  here 
during  all  the  ages  that  the  Signorian  Palace  was  the  center  of  the  political  life  of  the 
Florentines.  In  front  of  the  Vecchio  Palace  is  the  sunlit  Piazza  della  Signoria,  which  is 
the  center  of  Florentine  life.  Until  the  recent  change  in  the  Italian  Government,  it  had 
for  two  hundred  years  been  called  the  Grand  Duke's  Square,  but  it  is  now  given  back  its 
original  name.  This  is  like  an  open-air  art  gallery  of  sculpture  and  architecture.  On 
the  east  is  the  grand  old  palace  of  the  Signoria.  On  the  south  is  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi,  or 
gallery  of  the  (Swiss)  lancers  who  attended  Cosimo  I.,  and  on  the  other  sides  are  narrow 
streets  and  quaint  buildings,  with  tablets  marking  their  historical  associations,  while  in 
the  center  is  the  great  Fountain  of  Neptune,  and  hard  by  a  grand  equestrian  statue  of 
Cosimo  I.  In  the  Loggia,  which  consists  of  three  open  arches  inclosing  a  platform  raised 
by  six  steps  above  the  square,  stand  some  of  the  finest  statues  in  Florence.  It  is  a 
strange  sight,  these  works  of  genius  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  coming  and  going  of 
all  the  every-day  Life  in  the  busiest  square  in  Florence,  which  has  seen  many  remarkable 
events  beside  the  closing  scene  in  Savonarola's  life.  Several  of  the  narrow,  closely-built 
streets  opening  here  reach  the  Duomo — cathedral — which,  westward  of  the  Piazza  della 
Signoria,  stands  in  about  the  center  of  the  city.  This  was  begun  in  1298,  the  same  year 
as  the  Vecchio,  to  be,  the  builder  said,  "  the  loftiest,  most  sumptuous  edifice  that  human 
invention  could  devise  or  human  labor  execute."  Centuries  have  passed  since  it  was  fin- 
ished, and  sometimes  with  a  heavy  hand  on  the  great  works  of  Florence,  but  even  yet  the 


THE    CAMPANILE. 


240  Cities  of  the  World. 

cathedral  stands  in  wonderful  beauty.  The  regular  side  walls  are  encrusted  with 
precious  marbles  and  filled  with  sculpture  like  the  apse  with  its  buttresses. 
A  small  dome  is  at  the  South,  above  which  rises  the  largest  dome  in  the  whole  world.  A 
century  later  Michael  Angelo,  on  his  way  to  Rome  to  build  St.  Peter's,  looked  at  this 
noble  work  of  Brunelleschi,  the  architect,  and  said.  "  Like  you  I  will  not  be  ;  better,  I  can 
not  be."  The  interior  of  the  Cathedral  is  disappointing  at  first.  The  somber  brown 
pillars  and  arches,  and  walls  bare  of  enrichment  or  decoration  seem  extremely  meager  ; 
but  by  degrees  you  come  to  enjoy  the  simple  grandeur  of  the  broad  arches  and  magnifi- 
cent dome  and  feel  that  all  the  color  that  is  necessary  comes  in  through  those  little  jewel- 
like  windows.  At  one  corner  of  the  Cathedral,  stands  the  Campanile,  or  Bell-tower  of 
Giotto — the  pride  of  the  city.  It  is  a  square  structure  nearly  three  hundred  feet  high, 
with  a  heavy  cornice  and  other  striking  Grecian  features,  in  the  midst  of  which  are  tier 
after  tier  of  Gothic  windows.  Mr.  Ruskin  says  this  is  the  one  building  in  the  world 
where  Power  and  Beauty  are  highly  developed  and  combined, — "  the  model  and  mirror 
of  perfect  architecture."  Across  the  square  in  front  of  the  Cathedral  and  Campanile,  is 
the  Baptistry  of  St.  John,  which  is  famous  for  its  three  sets  of  bronze  doors,  one  of  which 
— the  eastern  gates — Michael  Angelo  said  were  worthy  to  be  the  gates  of  Paradise.  They 
quite  overshadow  the  rich  mosaics  on  the  floor  and  ceilings  of  the  Baptistry,  or  the  frescoes 
round  the  walls.  They  are  not  large,  but  the  delicate  and  perfect  workmanship  of  the 
little  bronze  figures  in  relief  tell  in  bronze  the  stories  of  the  Baptist.  A  little  west- 
ward of  the  Cathedral  is  the  Church  of  St.  Lorenzo,  interesting  for  its  association  with 
the  great  Medici  family,  and  rich  m  the  works  of  Michael  Angelo  and  other  masters 
of  sculpture.  From  here  one  of  the  widest  and  the  busiest  streets  in  Florence  runs,  as 
straight  as  an  old  Italian  street  can  so  long  a  distance,  to  the  Ponte  Vecchio — Vecchio 
Bridge — which  is  the  most  famous  of  the  six  crossing  the  Arno  at  Florence,  and  leads  to 
a  smaller  part  of  the  city  lying  on  the  right  bank  of  the  water.  The  Ponte  Vecchio  is  at 
the  head  of  the  long  and  broad  Via  Romana,  which  crosses  this  upper  part  of  Florence, 
and  lined  with  palaces  ends  at  the  Roman  Gate  in  the  north-eastern  angle  and  the 
fortifications.  Not  far  above  the  bridge  is  the  huge,  imposing  structure  of  the  Palazza 
Pitti.  Its  great  fapade  four  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  is  of  three  stories,  each  forty 
feet  high,  surmounting  a  basement  and  huge  blocks  of  stone.  There  is  no  palace  in 
Europe  to  compare  to  it  for  grandeur,  though  many  may  surpass  it  in  elegance.  Built 
in  1441  by  the  treacherous  Luca  Pitti  fora  residence,  it  soon  passed  out  of  his  family  and 
after  long  serving  for  the  palace  of  the  Grand  Dukes,  it  has  now  become  the  property 
of  the  Italian  government.  Its  chief  use  is  as  a  fitting  storehouse  for  some  of  Florence's 
treasures  of  art,  although  there  are  apartments  occasionally  occupied  by  the  King.  This 
palace  is  connected  with  the  Vecchio  by  a  long  passage  built  by  the  Medici  in  imita- 
tion of  the  passage  which  Homer  described  as  uniting  the  palace  of  Hector  to  that  of 
Priam.  It  was  also  intended  as  a  means  of  escape  if  required  ;  it  is  now  an  additional 


242  Cities  of  the   World. 

art  gallery  which  forms  a  delightful  walk,  especially  in  wet  weather,  through  a  long 
avenue  of  art  treasures  that  it  begins  and  ends  in  a  museum.  Behind  the  Pitti  Palace, 
from  the  Arno  to  the  Roman  Gate,  extend  the  famous  Boboli  Gardens.  In  front  of  the 
palace  is  an  amphitheater  of  seats,  raised  one  above  the  other,  whence  walks,  between 
clipped  avenues  of  bay  and  ilex,  lead  to  the  higher  ground,  where  are  the  Fountain  of 
Neptune,  statuary  and  the  little  meadow  called  Z'  Uccellaja,  from  its  bird  snares.  From  the 
high  places  in  the  gardens  the  view  of  Florence  makes  a  pleasant  picture  of  the  fair  city 
to  be  always  carried  in  the  memory.  Genoa  has  been  called  the  key-note  of  her  coun- 
try. "  No  place  is  more  entirely  imbued  with  the  characteristics,  the  beauty  and  the 
color  of  Italy.  Its  ranges  of  marble  palaces  and  churches  rise  above  the  blue  waters  of 
its  bay,  interspersed  with  the  brilliant  green  of  orange  and  lemon  groves,  and  backed  by 
swelling  mountains  ;  it  well  deserves  its  title  of  Genoa  the  Superb."  From  the  rail- 
way from  Savona  you  see  "  the  queenly  city,  with  its  streets  of  palaces  rising  tier  above 
tier  from  the  water,  girdling  with  the  long  lines  of  its  bright  white  houses,  the  vast  sweeps 
of  its  harbor,  the  mouth  of  which  is  marked  by  a  huge  natural  mole  of  rock,  crowned  by 
a  magnificent  light  house  tower." 

This  is  the  city  of  Columbus,  the  one  above  all  other  Italian  cities  to  which  we 
Americans  feel  the  nearest.  Along  the  edge  of  the  port  all  the  principal  hotels  are 
ranged  beyond  the  high  terrace  of  white  marble.  Many  days  may  be  spent  in  the  city 
among  its  glorious  palaces  filled  with  treasures,  or  walking  about  the  streets  sight-seeing. 
The  Jewelers'  Street  is  bright  with  shops  where  the  Genoese  coral,  fantastic  silver 
and  gold  filagree-work  and  many  other  rare  and  beautiful  ornaments  are  for  sale.  Then 
there  are  the  two  Cathedrals  and  Churches  of  St.  Matthew,  the  beautiful  palaces, 
especially  Spinola,  with  the  frescoes  in  its  grand  entrance  court,  its  rooms  opening  on  the 
marble  terrace  ;  Doria  Tursi  with  its  hanging  gardens,  its  statuary,  and  mosaics,  bronzes 
and  statuary  ;  the  Red  Palace,  containing  pictures  and  a  valuable  library  ;  and  the  Balbi, 
entered  by  a  most  lovely  court,  inclosed  by  triple  rows  of  slender  columns,  through  which 
a  brilliant  orange  garden  is  seen.  This  is  the  most  comfortable  and  well  furnished  of  all 
the  Genoese  palaces.  The  family  live  in  the  upper  apartments,  but  generously  allow  it  to 
be  shown  to  strangers.  Besides  these  there  are  many  others,  and  as  you  walk  along  some 
of  the  streets — especially  the  Strada  Nuova  and  Strada  Balbi — it  seems  as  if  each  new 
palace  is  nobler  than  the  last.  Then  there  are  other  narrow  streets  in  the  strongest  con- 
trast, with  "  great  heavy  stone  balconies  one  above  another,  doorless  vestibules,  massively 
barred  lower  windows,  immense  public  staircases  ;  thick  marble  pillars  and  vaulted 
chambers.  The  terrace  Gardens  lying  between  the  houses,  have  their  green  arches 
of  the  vine,  and  groves  of  orange  trees,  and  blushing  oleanders  in  full  bloom,  twenty, 
thirty,  forty  feet  above  the  street ;  the  steep,  uphill  streets  of  palaces  with  marble  terraces 
look  down  into  close  by-ways  ;  and  a  rapid  passage  "  carries  you  "  from  a  street  of 
stately  edifices  into  a  maze  of  the  vilest  squalor,  steaming  with  unwholesome  stenches' 


244 


Cities  of  the  World. 


and  swarming  with  half  naked  children."  The  poorest  and  most  populous  quarter  of 
Genoa  is  made  up  of  "  narrow  alleys  and  tall  houses,  where  cats  can  jump  from  roof  to 
roof  across  the  way  and  where  only  a  narrow  strip  of  blue  sky  shines  down  upon  the 
darkness."  Here  you  see  a  "wonderful  novelty  of  every  thing, — jumbling  of  dirty 
houses,  passages  more  squalid  and  close  than  any  in  St.  Giles's  (London),  or  in  Old 
Paris  ;  in  and  out  of  which  not  vagabonds,  but  well-dressed  women  with  white  veils  and 
great  fans  are  passing  and  repassing."  There  is  a  "  bewildering  vision  of  saints'  and 

virgins'  shrines  at  the  street  corners  ; 
of  great  numbers  of  friars,  monks  and 
soldiers  ;  of  red  curtains  waving  at  the 
door-ways  of  churches  ;  of  fruit  stalls, 
with  fresh  lemons  and  oranges  hanging 
in  garlands  made  of  vine  leaves.  The 
houses  are  immensely  high,  painted  in 
all  sorts  of  colors,  and  are  in  every  stage 
of  damage,  dirt  and  lack  of  repair. 
They  are  commonly  let  in  floors  or  flats. 
There  are  but  few  street  doors  ;  and 
the  entrance  halls  are,  for  the  most  part, 
looked  upon  as  public  property." 

Lastly  among  Italy's  great  cities  is 
Venice,  the  queen  city  of  the  world. 
Volumes  have  been  written  in  prose  and 
verse  on  its  charms  ;  book  after  book 
has  been  made  on  its  history,  and  thou- 
sands of  canvasses  covered  with  its 
scenes  ;  and  yet  there  never  was  a  gifted 
writer,  a  poet  or  a  painter  who  felt  that 
his  efforts  had  done  justice  to  the  charm 
of  Venice.  I  can  tell  you  how  it  lies  in 
a  gulf,  called  a  lagoon,  in  the  northern 
angle  of  the  Adriatic,  spreading  its  pal- 
aces and  churches  over  more  than  sixty 
THE  BRIDGE  OF  SIGHS,  VENICE  islands  of  sand,  marsh  and  seaweed, 

and  I  can  tell  you  how  it  became  a  republic  that  once  "lorded  it  over  Italy, 
conquered  Constantinople,  resisted  a  league  of  all  the  kings  of  Christendom,  long 
carried  on  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  bequeathed  to  nations  the  model  of  the 
most  stable  government  ever  framed  by  man  ;  "  all  this  and  many  more  things  about  the 
"  Sea  Cybele  "  may  be  read  again  and  again,  and  yet  Venice  is  unknown  to  all  who  have 


Venice. 


245 


never  seen  it  and  lived  in  it  themselves.  Just  within  the  island  girded  lagoon,  and  near  a 
splendid  opening  to  the  sea,  something  like  a  decanter  with  its  neck  toward  the  open 
water,  Venice  lies,  a  queenly  city  even  now,  after  years  of  decay.  In  all  directions 
without  the  least  regularity  it  is  threaded  with  narrow  canals,  some  finding  outlet  in  the 
lagoon,  some  in  each  other,  and  some  in  the  broad  Grand  Canal,  which  sweeps  with 
many  stately  curves  like  an  S  reversed  through  the  center  of  the  city,  from  the  railway 
station  on  the  western  limit  to  a  great  arm  of  the  lagoon  on  the  south.  The  salt  waves 
of  the  Grand  Canal  lap  against  the  marble  steps  of  the  railway  station,  and  outside  the 
portico  no  demonstrative  hackmen  are  clamoring  to  rattle  you  through  the  streets  of  the 
city  ;  but  like  a  row  of  sable  hearses,  innumerable  black  gondolas  are  waiting  to  float  you 
off  into  the  green  water. 
Your  senses  grow  be- 
wildered by  the  lights 
above  and  below,  the 
dense  shadows  from 
great  buildings  on  the 
brink,  or  the  grave-like 
darkness  of  the  small 
canals,  the  splashing  of 
an  oar  or  a  song  or  the 
weird  cries  of  the  gon- 
doliers, being  the  only 
sounds  you  hear.  By 
and  by  all  these  things 
become  familiar,  and 
losing  their  wonder 
strengthen  their  charm. 


The  heart  of  Venice 
is  the  Place  of  St. 
Mark.  Of  all  the  open 
spaces  in  the  city  that 


THE    GRAND    CANAL. 

before  the  church  of  St.  Mark  alone  bears  the  name 
of  Piazza,  and  the  rest  are  called  merely  campi,  or  fields.  "  It  is  a  great  piazza  on 
whose  broad  bosom  is  a  palace  more  majestic  and  magnificent  in  its  old  age  than  all  the 
buildings  of  the  earth,  in  the  high  prime  and  fullness  of  their  youth.  Cloisters  and  galleries 
— so  light,  they  might  be  the  work  of  fairy  hands  ;  so  strong  that  centuries  have  battered 
them  in  vain.  At  no  great  distance  from  its  porch,  a  lofty  tower,  standing  by  itself,  looks 
out  upon  the  Adriatic  Sea.  Near  to  the  margin  of  the  stream  are  two  ill-omened  pillars 
of  red  granite  ;  one  having  on  its  top  a  figure  with  a  sword  and  shield  ;  the  other  a 
winged  lion.  Not  far  from  these  again  a  second  tower,  more  richly  decorated  and 


246 


Cities  of  the  World. 


sustaining  aloft  a  great  orb,  gleaming  with  gold  and  deepest  blue  ;  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
Zodiac  painted  on  it,  and  a  mimic  sun  revolving  in  its  course  around  them  ;  while  above 
two  bronze  giants  hammer  out  the  hours  on  a  sounding  bell.  An  oblong  square  of  lofty 
houses  of  whitest  stone,  surrounded  by  a  light  and  beautiful  arcade,  forms  part  of  this 
enchanted  scene  ;  and  here  and  there  gay  masts  for  flags  rise." 

To  come  from   one   of   the   cool    somber  buildings    "upon    spaces   of  such    sunny 
length  and  breadth  set  around  with  such  exquisite  architecture,  it  makes  you  glad  to  be 


WEST    FRONT    OF    ST.    MARK'S,    VENICE. 

living  in  this  world.  It  is  the  great  resort,  in  summer  and  winter,  by  day  and  night  ;  " 
and  of  all  the  brilliant  scenes  of  this  out-of-door-living  people  none  can  compare  with  St. 
Mark's  Place,  "which  has  a  night  time  glory  indescribable  coming  from  the  light  of 
uncounted  lamps  "  on  the  surrounding  buildings.  There  are  always  flocks  of  pigeons 
here,  sacred  birds  in  Venice,  which  are  so  tame  that  they  never  move  out  of  your  way, 
but  run  before  you  as  you  walk,  and  perch  on  the  sill  of  your  open  window.  They  were 


Venice. 


247 


formerly  maintained  by  the  republic,  but  are  now  provided  for  by  the  bequest  of  a 
pious  lady  and  by  the  grain  and  peas  given  them  by  strangers." 

The  greatest  object  is  the  church  on  the  eastern  side,  with  its  portico  surmounted  by 
the  four  famous  bronze  horses  brought  from  Constantinople  by  the  Venetians  after  the 
fourth  Crusade,  with  its  lofty  proportions  and  its  undescribable  treasures  of  relics, 
mosaics  and  other  magnificent  decorations.  Beside  St.  Mark's  stands  the  old  Doge's 
Palace,  extending  southward  ;  this  was  first  built  by  the  Doge  of  Venice  in  820,  and 
then,  after  being  partly  destroyed  by  the  fires  of  1419,  another  Doge  rebuilt  it.  Mr. 
Ruskin  says  :  "  The  first  hammer  stroke  upon  the  old  palace  was  the  first  act  of  the 
period  properly  called  the  Renaissance."  This  was  in  1422,  and  so  we  know  where  and 

when  that   great    revival   of  ii( ,.,. .,., 

ancient  art,   which  has   had  ,r-^^^-M;J>  .^ 

an  influence  on  all  the  world, 
began.  As  the  Palace  now 
stands  it  is  remarkable  for 
thing,  that  instead  of 


one 

appearing  to  grow  lighter  as 

it  rises   from  the  basement, 

the  ground  floor  seems  to  be 

the  most  delicate  part  of  the 

building,    and    as    it     rises 

story  after  story  toward  the 

sky,    it  appears   to   increase 

in    heaviness    and    massive 

proportion.     The  Bridge  of 

Sighs  led  from  the  criminal 

courts  in  the  palace,  to  the 

criminal  prisons  on  the  other 

side  of  the  Rio  Canal.       On 

the  north    side  of    the    Piazza    on    the    Procuratie   Vecchie,    then   comes    the    Clock 

Tower,  the  arch  beneath  it  leading  into  the  busy  streets  of  the  Mercedia.     On  the  west 

side  of  the  square  are  the  New  Procuratie   and  the  Library,  which  extends  to  the  quay 

on  the  west  side  of  the  Piazzetta,  which,  opening  from  the  Piazza  opposite  the   Clock 

Tower,  extends  to  the  steps  leading  down  to  the  waters  of  the  lagoon  at  the  end  of  the 

Grand  Canal.    Opposite  the  Library,  the  Zecca,  or  old  Mint,  adjoining  the  Doge  Palace, 

overlooks  the  eastern  side  of  the  Piazzetta.     There  are  many  water  cities  in  the  world,  with 

grand  canals,  too  ;  but  nothing  can  in  the  least  compare  with  that  of  Venice.       Here  the 

public  gondolas  cross  as  ferry  boats,  and  from  here,  in  the  shade,  the  most  picturesque 

groups  may  usually  be  seen,  of  facchini  gossiping  with  the  gondoliers,  or  market  women  from 


\ 


ARCADE    OF    THE    DOGE  S    PALACE    IN    THE    PIAZZETTA. 


248  Cities  of  the  World. 

Mestre  waiting  with  their  baskets  overflowing  with  fruits  and  greenery.  Here  are  the 
grab-catchers,  a  peculiar  class  of  beggars  who  pretend  to  pull  your  gondola  to  the  shore 
for  you.  Along  the  way  on  either  side  of  the  broad  water,rich,  stately  palaces  lie  in  lines  of 
mingled  Gothic  and  Renaissance  architecture,  for  while  other  cities  are  famed  for  ten  or 
twelve  great  buildings,  Venice  numbers  hers  by  hundreds.  Near  the  center  the  Grand 
Canal  is  crossed  by  the  famous  bridge  known  in  English  as  the  Rialto,  but  spoken  of  by 
Venetians  as  the  Ponte  di  Rialto,  as  this  part  of  town  was  the  ancient  city  of  Venice, 
and  derives  its  name  from  Rivo-alto,  as  the  land  here  on  the  left  of  the  canal  was  called. 
The  footway  of  the  famous  bridge  is  lined  with  shops,  and  near  at  hand  is  the  market 
place,  which  if  not  the  scene  of  "  such  vast  multitudes  that  it  is  celebrated  among  the 
first  in  the  universe,"  as  a  writer  of  the  sixteenth  century  tells  us,  it  has  still  plenty  of 
life  and  many  interesting  sights  ;  and  so,  if  you  were  there  in  the  enchanting  city, 
you  might  go  on  and  on,  never  coming  to  the  end  of  the  beautiful  palaces  and  the 
galleries  of  paintings  and  sculptures  they  contain,  or  the  noble  and  the  quaint 
churches  or  the  picturesque  campi,  the  tortuous,  narrow  canals  or  the  few  close 
streets  ;  at  other  times  you  might  spend  pleasant  hours  out  in  the  lagoon,  visiting 
the  islands  or  quietly  floating  along  watching  the  golden  sunsets,  and  then  again  it  would 
be  in  Florian's  or  some  of  the  gayest  cafes  you  would  be  enjoying  your  cosmopolitan 
friends,  or  chatting  with  some  passing  acquaintance,  while  the  band  played  outside, 
and  gay  groups  of  people  moved  about  or  stood  chatting  all  around  in  the  caf£,  the 
vestibule  or  on  the  Piazza  below. 

There  are  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  in  Venice,  many  of  whom  are 
artists,  others  are  occupied  by  the  city  trade  and  in  commerce,  which  has  revived  very 
much  since  the  Austrian  yoke  was  taken  off  and  the  unhappy  city  joyfully  became 
incorporated  with  the  kingdom.  Beautiful  glassware  is  made  here  and  articles  of  iron 
and  bronze,  beside  machinery,  silverware  and  mosaics. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 


VIENNA,  the  great  city  of  the  Austrian  monarchy,  stands  between  the  Carpathian 
mountains  and  the  last  hills  of  the  Wiener  Wald.     Its  broad  plain  is  threaded  by  the 
arms  of  the  Danube  river,  into  one  of  which  the  little   river,  Wien,  flows  that  gives  the 
Austrian  capital  its   name.      Wien  is  the  German  for  Vienna.     In  olden  times  this  spot 
was  first  settled  by  the  Romans.     They  chose  it  as  a  central  point  to  command  the 


VIENNA,    FROM    THE    UPPER    TERRACE    OF    BELVEDERE    PALACE. 

plain  between  the  great  natural  barriers  of  the  mountains,  and  set  up  a  guard  here  as  an 
outpost  to  protect  their  possessions  from  the  Barbarians  of  the  North.  For  a  long  time 
the  two  streams  formed  the  upper  and  the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  town  ;  but  it  seemed 
to  be  in  just  the  right  place  to  grow.  Once,  in  the  twelfth  century,  its  boundaries 


250  Cities  of  the  World. 

became  too  small,  and  outer  walls  were  built  ;  before  long  these  could  not  hold  the 
people,  and  then  the  city  was  extended  on  all  sides  in  new  buildings  and  districts  or 
towns  called  stddte,  laid  out  so  that  they  could  be  extended  almost  any  distance,  like  the 
beams  of  a  star.  Then,  in  1704,  when  Francis  Rakoczy  came  down  with  his  Hungarian 
invaders,  another  rampart  was  built  to  inclose  these  "suburbs,"  which  had  grown  to  be 
an  important  part  of  the  city  itself.  So,  until  after  the  French  occupation  of  1809, 
when  Napoleon,  successful  in  the  battles  of  Austerlitz  and  Wagram,  held  the  city, 
Vienna  had  a  double  girdle  of  fortifications.  After  the  French  left,  the  inner  lines  were 
broken  down  and  a  circular  set  of  streets  built  upon  them,  called  the  "  Rings,"  or  the 
Ringstrasse.  These  are  very  much  like  the  boulevards  of  Paris,  broad,  handsomely 
built  up  and  planted,  forming  a  distinction  between  the  old  town,  or  "the  City,"  and 
the  outer  stddte.  The  other  ramparts  are  still  kept  as  the  regular  outposts,  and  their 
gates,  which  the  Viennese  call  the  Lines,  lead  to  the  real  suburbs  or  outskirts  of  the 
capital.  These  extend  for  miles — sometimes  to  the  outlying  towns — in  factory  districts, 
quarters  of  plain  dwelling  houses  and  dusty,  unpaved  streets,  or  in  parks  surrounding 
the  palatial  homes  of  wealthy  citizens  and  noble  families,  who  generously  keep  their 
beautiful  grounds  open  to  the  public. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  get  from  one  part  of  Vienna  to  another,  for  the  city  is 
covered  with  a  net-work  of  tram-ways,  or  street  car  lines,  public  carriages  and 
omnibuses. 

The  oldest,  the  grandest,  and  the  liveliest  part  of  the  capital  is  the  inner  town,  The 
City.  Here  one  street  only  is  long  and  straight,  another  is  long  and  broad  but  crooked  ; 
most  of  them  stand  in  parallel  groups  of  threes  or  fours,  apparently  there  as  the  shortest 
distance  from  one  important  point  to  another  ;  the  points  probably  being  in  the  center 
of  a  block  or  on  some  particularly  winding  thoroughfare.  These  tortuous  streets  and 
narrow  squares,  or  pldtze,  are  full  of  old  relics  and  historic  interest.  They  are  gloomy, 
to  be  sure,  for  the  great  six  storied  stone  houses  are  black  with  age,  but  they  are 
interesting  and  beautiful  with  their  grand  gate-ways,  their  massive  caryatides,  their 
quaint  walls  set  with  tablets  telling  you  of  all  the  great  men  who  have  lived  and  died 
beneath  their  gabled  roofs.  Here  and  there,  sometimes  beneath  the  houses,  covered 
passages  add  to  the  labyrinth  of  picturesque  highways  and  by-ways  which  worm  them- 
selves about,  which  meet  and  separate,  and  which  carry  you  back  with  your  thoughts 
for  several  centuries.  About  all  the  streets  in  the  city  lead  to  the  Stephans  Platz, 
where  the  sharp  pointed  watch  tower  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  rising  in  the  mist  of  the 
Stadt,  has  thrown  a  slender,  moving  shadow  over  its  steady  growth  and  the  solemn 
grandeur  of  four  centuries  and  a  half. 

The  lofty  western  facade  of  the  church,  set  with  ancient  Roman  sculptures,  looks 
down  severely  upon  some  of  the  most  crowded  business  places  in  all  the  city.  The 
great  Giant  Door,  which,  though  the  principal  entrance,  is  only  used  on  the  most  solemn 


wT 

O 


252  Cities  of  the  World. 

occasions,  is  guarded  above  by  two  eight-sided  towers,  ending  in  short  spires.  These 
are  ornamented  and  so  is  the  rest  of  the  building  with  its  long  peak  roof,  over  which  the 
Austrian  eagle  figured  in  colored  tiles  spreads  his  wings  ;  the  gables  above  the  side 
windows  are  flanked  at  the  other  end  by  the  great  south  tower.  The  graceful  spire 
stretches  upward  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  in  a  series  of  arches  and  buttresses, 
regularly  growing  smaller  and  covered  with  most  elaborate  carving.  From  the  top 
there  is  an  extensive  view  of  the  picturesque  walled  city  with  its  river,  moats,  and 
distant  hills.  The  old  church  was  built  after  Vienna  became  the  seat  of  the  Hapsburg 
dynasty,  in  the  years  between  1300  and  1510  ;  and  the  solid  limestone  is  gray  with  age — 
black  even  inside,  where  the  "  mighty  forest  of  pillars  "  adorned  with  statues  support 
the  rich  vaulting  of  the  ceiling.  The  effects  of  light  in  the  church  are  very  peculiar  ; 
"  the  great  length  of  the  central  aisle  is  divided  into  three.  Near  the  doorway  all  is 
bright,  then  comes  a  great  space  of  shadow  so  deep  you  can  scarcely  see  through  it,  and 
then  another  flood  of  light  falls  upon  the  chancel.  All  over,  from  the  tombs  of  the 
dead  to  the  traces  of  the  old  Roman  temple  which  is  said  to  have  stood  on  the  ground, 
St.  Stephen's  is  full  of  legends  and  the  'strange  wild  history  of  Austria.'  The  bells 
were  cast  from  Turkish  cannon,  captured  during  the  famous  siege,  when  the  crescent, 
that  you  still  see,  was  raised  to  induce  the  enemy  to  spare  the  grand  old  tower." 

There  are  legends,  too,  connected  with  the  building  of  the  old  church,  but  the  story 
of  the  Stock  tnt  £isen,  or  "  log  of  iron"  near  by,  is  more  interesting  than  all.  This  is 
the  stump  of  an  old  tree  that  once  stood  here,  it  is  said,  to  mark  the  ancient  limits  of 
the  Wiener  Wald,  the  most  easterly  hills  of  the  Alps  ;  but  do  you  wonder  why  it  is 
clasped  round  by  an  iron  band  held  by  a  padlock,  and  why  so  many  nails  have  been 
driven  in  it  ?  That  is  what  belongs  to  the  legend  of  Martin  Mux,  a  Viennese  locksmith's 
apprentice,  who  filled  in  a  dream  an  order  for  a  great  "  iron  circlet  to  be  secured  by  a 
padlock  that  no  mortal  strength  could  force  ;"  and  this  was  clasped  by  the  customer 
around  the  stem  of  "  the  old  tree  in  the  horse-market."  Years  after,  the  principality 
offered  a  large  reward  for  undoing  it,  at  a  time  when  Martin,  who  was  a  wanderer  in 
his  trade,  chanced  to  be  again  in  Vienna.  He,  of  course,  undid  it ;  and  was  thereupon 
acknowledged  as  the  greatest  among  locksmiths,  and  became  a  man  of  wealth  and  im- 
portance. Ever  after  that  all  young  locksmiths,  starting  out  to  make  their  fortunes,  have 
driven  a  nail  in  the  Slock  im  Eisen,  for  good  luck.  The  old  horse-market  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  Graben,  a  street  named  from  the  moat  which  lay  here  onee,  outside  the  city 
fortifications,  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  Graben  is  a  short  street,  so  wide  that  it  is 
almost  like  a  platz,  lined  with  beautiful  imposing  buildings,  behind  its  spreading  trees. 
At  the  other  end  is  the  gay  Kohlmarket.  The  Stephans  Platz,  the  Graben,  and  the  Kohl- 
market,  one  adjoining  the  other,  form  the  great  center  of  life,  trade  and  fashion  in  the 
gay  city.  The  Stephans  Platz  is  the  starting  place  for  most  of  the  omnibus  lines  in  the 
city  (bone-shaking  affairs  that  don't  give  as  much  convenience  as  they  do  discomfort, 


Vienna.  253 

rolling  over  the  uneven  pavements  with  their  load  of  crowded  occupants)  ;  and  in  all 
three  you  would  see  the  largest  hotels,  the  finest  stores,  and  the  gayest  throngs  of  people 
in  Vienna.  A  constant  stream  of  people  is  passing  to  and  fro.  On  all  sides  there  are 
open  streets,  and  squares  leading  to  and  from  the  many  important  places  around  about. 
Most  of  the  buildings  here  are  new  now  ;  with  their  richly  decorated  fronts  and  gor- 
geous store  windows  they  make  a  very  imposing  show,  mingled  with  great  walls  of 
advertisements,  for  which  definite  spaces  seem  to  be  permanently  kept.  In  the  center  of 
the  Graben  there  are  two  large  fountains,  standing  above  and  below  a  large  and  tall  group 
of  statuary  called  the  Trinity  Column.  The  monument  is  a  representation  of  figures 
among  clouds,  raised  in  1694,  by  the  order  of  Emperor  Leopold  I.,  when  the  dreadful 
plague  was  over.  The  cafes  here,  and  in  the  Kohlmarket,  are  the  best  in  the  world,  for 
the  Viennese,  who  introduced  this  kind  of  refreshment-house  into  Europe,  take  pride  in 
keeping  ahead  of  all  other  cities  in  having  the  finest  and  the  greatest  number.  A  Vien- 
nese cafe"  is  part  of  the  city  itself.  It  may  be  a  plain  looking,  neat  little  restaurant  of 
the  Leopold  stadt  (one  of  the  sections  of  the  outer  town),  where  the  Magyars,  Greeks, 
and  Turks  are  dressed  in  their  native  costumes  to  serve,  or  themselves  gather  about  the 
tables  ;  or  a  quiet  little  out-of-the-way  place,  where  artists  or  writers  go  ;  or  large,  luxu- 
rious institutions  in  the  center  of  the  city — in  any  of  them  you  see  a  kind  of  life  that 
belongs  only  to  Vienna.  Most  of  these  places  are  open  at  any  time  ;  if  you  stray  in 
before  two  o'clock,  you  will  see  the  little  tables,  and  the  decorations  and  other  attractions 
offered  by  the  proprietor,  and  get  an  excellent  cup  of  coffee,  some  sweet  bread  and  but- 
ter, or  whatever  you  order  that  comes  within  the  moderate  caf6  bill  of  fare.  The  Vien- 
nese are  most  celebrated  for  their  ices,  which  are  of  many  different  kinds,  often  so  clev- 
erly combined  that  the  waiter  who  takes  your  order  is  asked  to  come  back  with  the  ice, 
when  he  has  set  before  you  a  bouquet  of  roses,  a  basket  of  grapes,  a  litter  of  fluffy 
puppies,  or  a  miniature  dog,  so  perfect  that  you  are  deceived  at  first  sight.  A  good 
cafe  is  tempting  to  idleness. . 

You  may  loiter  about  for  a  long  time  if  you  wish,  reading  some  of  the  papers. 
There  is  an  astonishing  number  in  the  cafe",  not  only  of  those  published  in  Austria, 
but  in  almost  every  land.  Perhaps  there  will  be  a  few  other  "  stragglers "  like 
yourself,  who  sit  about  for  a  while,  sipping  some  refreshment,  reading  or  smoking ; 
but  the  life  of  the  cafes  is  to  be  seen  between  two  o'clock  and  four  in  the  afternoon. 
Then  all  the  well-known  places  are  filled — packed,  rather,  with  a  regular  Viennese 
crowd,  representing  every  nation  in  the  world  ;  and  while  different  places  'are  fre- 
quented by  people  of  a  particular  nation,  as  also  of  kindred  professions,  in  the  largest 
places,  like  the  European  Cafe  in  the  Stephans  Platz,  or  the  Pfob  in  the  Graben,  you 
will  see  an  oddly  mingled  throng  of  Turks  and  Greeks,  Jews  and  Poles,  Bohemians,  and 
Germans  of  every  kingdom,  Europeans,  Orientals,  and  swarthy  skinned  Southerners, 
too.  They  jostle  each  other  in  a  strange  looking  crowd  of  widely  different  people, 


254  Cities  of  the  World. 

chattering  in  their  foreign  tongues,  and  carrying  with  them  their  national  manners. 
All  the  men  smoke  ;  you  see  them  puffing  at  everything,  from  the  long  porcelain  pipe 
to  the  paper  cigarette.  You  can  not  but  be  interested,  and  you  can  not  help  liking  them 
all ;  they  are  so  kindly,  so  jovial  and  good-natured  ;  they  will  take  any  trouble  to  be 
courteous  to  you  or  to  another  ;  they  have  plenty  of  time,  and  love  to  "  enjoy  life  as 
they  go  along  ;"  they  come  here  to  chat  with  each  other,  to  smoke  together,  to  read, 
hear  the  music,  for  some  kind  or  other  of  enjoyment.  With  all  Viennese,  and  every 
other  son  of  the  German  race,  their  greatest  pleasure  is  in  music.  Nearly  all  the  cafes 
have  bands  of  music,  where  the  beautiful  wild  Hungarian  airs  are  played  by  women.  It 
is  principally  dance  music  that  they  play  ;  more  brilliant  and  fascinating  music  than  you 
hear  in  any  other  place  in  the  world.  But  the  finest  music  is  not  in  the  cafe's  ;  it  is  in 
the  out-of-door  concerts,  especially  those  given  in  the  Volksgarten,  by  Edward  Strasse  and 
his  merry  men.  The  famous  Johann  plays  only  at  the  Emperor's  good  pleasure  nowadays. 
This  too,  is  dance  music,  but  carried  to  an  art,  soft,  light,  and  exquisitely  full  of  melody. 
In  this  paradise  of  spreading  trees,  promenades,  cafe-tables  out-of-doors,  the  genuine 
Viennese  finds  perfect  bliss  in  music,  tobacco,  and  Dreher's  beer.  "  Gayety  in  every 
form,  and  at  all  times,  and  an  unlimited  capacity  for  enjoyment,  seem  to  be  the  leading 
characteristic  of  the  Austrian  disposition."  You  see  this  in  the  beautiful  theatres  they 
build,  and  the  great  numbers  of  concert  halls,  ball  rooms,  and  other  places  of  recreation 
abounding  throughout  the  capital.  Vienna  has  about  ten  great  theatres  ;  three  of  the 
finest  are  in  the  Stadt ;  the  chief  one  of  all  being  the  Imperial  Opera  House.  It  is  just 
within  the  city  limits,  on  one  of  the  southern  sections  of  the  Ring  strasse.  The  best 
operas  are  given  here,  before  the  largest,  most  fashionable  and  brilliant  companies  of 
people  that  gather  to  any  of  the  indoor  amusements.  The  building  itself  attracts  a 
great  many  visitors. 

It  has  made  its  four  architects  so  famous  that  their  portraits  were  made  in  medal- 
lion to  adorn  the  handsome  staircase.  Seven  marble  statues  stand  on  the  parapets  and 
great  winged  horses  are  above  the  open  balcony,  or  "  loggia."  This  is  decorated  with 
fine  frescoes  and  bronze  figures,  and  the  foyer  is  richly  embellished  with  scenes  from 
great  operas,  and  busts  of  celebrated  living  composers.  The  interior  is  large  enough  to 
seat  three  thousand  people,  and  sumptuously  decorated  with  paintings  and  gilding.  The 
ceilings,  walls  and  curtain  are  each  a  separate  work  of  art.  On  the  main  curtain  is  the 
legend  of  Orpheus,  the  poet  who  could  move  lifeless  things  by  the  music  of  his 
lyre.  On  the  box-fronts  there  are  thirty  medallions  of  distinguished  members  of  the 
Viennese  opera  during  the  last  hundred  years.  Not  even  the  famous  boulevards  of 
Paris  have  such  a  show  of  magnificent  buildings  as  the  Rings  of  Vienna.  On  the  west 
of  the  city,  they  begin  at  the  broad  Franz- Josephs  Quay,  which  is  itself  a  great  tree- 
planted  and  store-lined  boulevard,  skirting  the  lower  bank  of  the  Danube  Canal — as  the 
river  arm  is  called — connecting  on  the  east  with  the  other  end  of  the  encircling 


THE    JEWS     QUARTER,    VIENNA. 


256  Cities  of  the  World. 

thoroughfare.  One  of  the  best  ways  to  see  these  "  lions  "  of  the  great  capital  is  to  take 
a  drive  through  them.  There  is  a  never  ending  panorama  among  the  people,  for  this  is  a 
favorite  promenade,  and  contains  some  fine  stores,  and  of  course,  many  good  cafes  ; 
but  the  imposing  double  ring  of  buildings  that  line  the  great  tree-planted  avenue  on 
either  side,  will  draw  your  attention  from  every  other  sight.  Beginning  the  circuit  on  the 
western  side  of  the  city,  first  there  are  the  extensive  Rudolf  barracks,  where  hundreds  of 
soldiers  are  housed.  Barracks  are  a  common  sight  in  Vienna,  for  Austria  has  one  of  the 
largest  standing  armies  in  the  world,  and  in  the  capital  alone  there  are  soldiers  enough  to 
make  a  general  parade  of  over  twenty  thousand  men.  Nearly  opposite  is  the  Vienna 
Exchange,  or  Borse,  a  great  rectangular  building,  profusely  set  with  marble,  terra  cotta 
and  sculptures  in  relief,  with  a  stately  portico  of  arches  and  columns  in  front  of  a  mag- 
nificent vestibule,  leading  to  the  vast  business  hall,  where  the  Viennese  stock  brokers 
gather  in  such  noisy  and  excited  crowds  as  those  of  other  countries.  The  first  floor  of 
the  building  is  occupied  by  the  fine  Oriental  museum  of  natural  products,  manufactured 
articles,  models  and  other  things,  mostly  from  Eastern  Asia.  Further  along  in  your 
drive  you  would  see  a  pretty  little  garden,  triangularly  shaped,  between  two  fine  broad 
streets,  radiating  westward.  Above  it  is  the  Votive  Church,  built  by  the  Austrian  people 
in  1856  and  the  twenty-three  following  years  as  a  votive  offering  for  the  Emperor's  escape 
from  assassination  in  1853.  It  is  celebrated  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  modern 
Gothic  buildings.  It  stands  alone  in  the  center  of  a  large  platz,  solitary  and  beautiful, 
with  its  richly  carved  body  covered  with  tracery  and  statues,  and  its  slender  spires  above 
the  open-work  towers.  The  statuary  carving  and  coloring  of  the  handsomely  propor- 
tioned interior  is  finer  than  any  thing  else  in  Europe,  except  the  king  of  cathedrals  at 
Cologne.  Beyond  it  in  the  Alsergrund  stadt,  are  some  of  the  great  hospitals  and  cele- 
brated charitable  institutions  of  the  city.  Opposite  the  point  of  the  triangular  garden,  a 
narrow  street  in  sharp  contrast  with  all  this  spacious  modern  magnificence  runs  between 
the  grim,  black  walls  of  the  Schottenhof  and  the  Melkerhof.  These  are  a  couple  of  the 
great  abbeys  belonging  to  some  of  the  powerful  religious  orders  or  societies  of  Austria. 
There  are  many  of  these  ancient  hofe  in  Vienna  ;  they  occupy  some  of  the  most  valuable 
property  in  the  city,  and  the  inmates  of  any  of  them  are  enough  to  people  a  small  town. 
This  narrow  picturesque  Schottenstrasse  also  leads  to  the  large  irregular  platz  called  the 
Freiung,  overlooked  by  ancient  palaces  of  the  honored  Austrian  nobility,  whose  gal- 
leries of  magnificent  old  pictures  are  open  to  the  public.  Underneath  the  National  Bank 
is  a  Viennese  bazar  in  a  passage  that  makes  a  short  cut  for  pedestrians  to  the  Hof,  or 
Court,  an  ancient  square,  which  is  one  of  the  busy  fruit  markets  of  the  city.  Like 
almost  every  platz  it  is  embellished  with  a  monument  and  overlooked  by  noble  mansions 
or  city  buildings  of  some  special  interest.  The  old  Hof  is  the  largest  and  one  of  the 
liveliest  open  spaces  in  Vienna ;  on  the  east  it  is  connected  with  the  Graben,  and  not  far 
above  it  lies  the  Hohen  Market,  which  was  the  center  of  ancient  Vindobona,  the  town 


Vienna,  257 

of  the  Romans.  Marcus  Aurelius  died  in  the  fortress  that  stood  here,  and  in  the  third 
century  it  was  the  forum  of  an  active  Roman  town  and  military  station.  But,  if  you 
were  taking  a  drive  through  the  Rings  you  could  not  have  wandered  away  over  here  ; 
you  would  have  left  the  Votive  Church  behind,  and  joining  in  the  stately  pageant  of  the 
afternoon  drive,  would  probably  have  passed  the  grand  new  University  building  and  the 
celebrated  New  Buildings  near  by,  to  the  finely  laid  out  grounds  below,which,  divided  into 
exact  counterparts  by  a  wide  avenue,  lie  between  the  gay  drive  and  the  imposing  new 
buildings  to  the  Rathhaus  or  City  Hall,  standing  about  four  hundred  feet  back  from  the 
Ring  strasse,  apart  from  any  other  buildings.  It  is  built  in  the  style  of  the  magnificent 
Italian  palaces  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  everywhere  lavishly  adorned 
with  statues,  and  surmounted  by  a  tower,  rising  above  the  principal  facade.  Below  this 
there  is  a  great  reception  hall,  the  largest  of  three  contained  in  the  building  for  festive 
times,  which  are  in  addition  to  all  the  spacious  and  handsome  council  chambers,  com- 
mittee rooms  and  offices.  The  various  apartments  of  the  Rathhaus  are  built  around 
seven  fine  open  courts  ;  the  largest  one,  in  the  center  of  the  block,  is  very  handsome  and 
inclosed  by  arcades.  Opposite,  one  of  the  great  theaters  stands  in  a  large  platz  just  within 
the  Ring.  This  is  the  new  Court  Theater,  which,  standing  alone,  shows  off  its  cold 
but  stately  magnificence  and  numerous  columns  to  the  best  advantage.  Below  is  the  pretty 
green,  the  noble  shade  trees  and  lovely  walks  of  the  Volksgarten  where  another  Grecian 
building  stands,  the  Temple  of  Theseus,  as  it  is  called.  Toward  the  Ring  the  regular 
paths  and  sparkling  fountain  of  the  garden  are  opposite  the  main  front  of  the  Austrian 
Houses  of  Parliament.  This,  too,  is  a  Renaissance  structure,  with  its  fine  colonnaded 
wings  and  sculptured  pediment  above  the  noble  portico.  The  upper  stories  are  in  two 
parts,  connected  behind  the  portico  by  the  lower  story,  in  which  are  the  offices  and  com- 
mittee rooms  belonging  to  the  Senate,  occupying  the  upper  wing,  and  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  on  the  left  wing.  The  temple-like  building  further  on  is  the  Palace  of  Justice, 
where  the  Supreme  Courts  of  the  empire  meet.  The  magnificent  hall  in  the  center  of 
this  building  is  one  of  the  sights  of  Vienna  ;  in  vaults  underneath,  some  of  the  precious 
papers  of  the  nation  are  kept.  One  of  the  chief  reasons  that  this  drive  is  so  magnifi- 
cent is  that  nothing  is  crowded,  all  the  mighty  buildings  are  separated  by  wide  paved 
streets  and  squares  or  prettily  laid  out  flower-beds  and  lawns,  where  the  ease-loving 
people  stroll  about  talking  in  small  groups  or  smoking  in  peaceful  content.  They  wan- 
der through  the  Volksgarten  or  the  Outer  Burg  Platz,  adjoining,  into  the  Ring  strasse, 
crossing  it,  perhaps,  to  go  through  the  Imperial  museums,  which,  with  a  platz  of  flower- 
beds between,  lie  beyond  the  Palace  of  Justice.  They  are  built  alike,  magnificently 
adorned  with  art  in  sculpture  and  painting  and  contain  celebrated  collections,  one  of 
Natural  History  and  the  other  of  Art.  There  is  an  immense  building  behind  these  that 
is  not  handsome,  but  yet  very  interesting :  it  is  the  emperor's  stables,  where  hundreds  of 
blooded  horses  are  kept  for  the  use  of  the  imperial  family,  and  finer  carriages  than  you 


258  Cities  of  the  World. 

have  ever  seen,  I  am  sure.  They  are  for  four,  six  or  eight  horses,  too  many  to  be 
counted,  and  gorgeously  covered  with  gold  and  rich  colors.  One  of  them  is  two  hund- 
red years  old  and  has  panels  decorated  with  paintings  by  the  great  Flemish  artist  Peter 
Paul  Rubens.  The  collections  in  the  gun-room,  saddle-room,  riding  school  and  other 
apartments  of  the  stables  are  also  very  interesting.  Below  the  Volksgarten  there 
are  two  other  parks,  lying  along  the  Ring  strasse,  and  extending  almost  to  the  Opera 
House.  The  lower  one  is  the  Court  Garden,  and  the  center  one  is  called  the  Outer 
Burg  Platz.  The  entrance  to  this  is  through  a  large  gateway — the  Burg  Thor — in  which 
there  are  five  passages  separated  by  Doric  columns.  It  leads  to  that  vast,  irregular  pile 
of  the  Hofburg,  or  imperial  castle.  This  is  commonly  called  the  Burg,  and  has  been 
erected,  altered,  and  enlarged  at  different  times  since  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the 
Austrian  princes  first  set  up  their  residence  here.  Here  are  the  apartments  of  the 
present  emperor,  who  has  numberless  other  places  in  Vienna  and  elsewhere  ;  and  the 
wings  occupied  by  Maria  Theresa  and  her  son,  Joseph  II.  The  right  wing  is  called 
the  Schweizerhof,  or  Swiss  Court.  Adjoining  is  the  Treasury  with  its  halls  and  cham- 
bers lined  with  precious  and  historical  collections.  Heralds'  robes  hang  on  the  long 
walls  of  the  entrance  chamber,  with  beautiful  embroidery  of  heraldric  devices.  Here 
are  two  silver  caskets  containing  gifts  to  the  emperor  ;  and  an  ebony  box  wherein 
are  the  keys  of  the  coffins  of  the  ancestors  of  the  imperial  house,  and  among  some 
beautiful  objects  in  rock  crystal  and  smoky  topaz  the  development  of  the  art  of  the 
lapidary  may  be  seen  from  the  fifteenth  century  to  modern  times,  while  in  other  cases 
are  magnificently  rich  and  jeweled  articles,  a  fountain  head  made  of  a  single  emerald, 
handsome  tankards,  drinking  cups  of  lapis-lazuli  and  enameled  gold,  private  jewels  of 
the  Austrian  imperial  family,  the  Austrian  regalia,  crown  and  scepter  ;  the  celebrated 
Florentine  diamond  and  the  Frankfort  solitaire  diamond,  stars  and  other  emblems  of 
Austrian  orders.  Among  the  other  interesting  buildings  adjoining  the  Burg  is  the  old 
Court  Theater,  and  the  Imperial  Library,  facing  the  Joseph  Platz,  with  the  bronze  statue 
of  the  emperor  on  horseback.  There  are  only  a  few  libraries  in  the  world  more  cele- 
brated than  this  with  its  thousands  of  precious  volumes,  manuscripts  and  music  scores. 
The  churches  of  the  Burg  are  St.  Michael's,  where  the  aristocracy  attend,  Burg  Chapel, 
adjoining  the  Schweizerhof,  the  old  court  church,  or  Augustiner-kirche,  which  was 
begun  in  1330  ;  in  the  Lorettc  chapel  are  the  embalmed  hearts  of  the  royal  families 
(their  bodies  lie  in  the  Capuchin  Church  in  the  New  Market,  near  by,  where  a  long  pass- 
age in  the  solemn  vault  is  lined  by  almost  a  hundred  copper  coffins).  Below  the 
Hofburg,  near  the  Imperial  Opera  House,  is  the  old  palace  of  the  Archduke  Albert, 
containing  his  collection  of  engravings  and  drawings,  known  all  over  the  world  as  the 
Albertina.  It  is  said  to  be  the  most  valuable  in  Europe  ;  the  old  palace  is  connected 
by  a  covered  passage  with  the  Archduke's  new  palace,  which  overlooks  the  court  garden, 
and  is  adjoined  by  the  smaller  palace  of  the  celebrated  and  wealthy  banker,  Baron 


ST.  STEPHEN'S  CHURCH,  VIENNA. 


260  Cities  of  the  World. 

Schey  on  the  Ring  strasse,  next  to  the  Opera.  Another  and  a  more  famous  imperial 
residence  is  Belvedere,  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  Vienna,  between  the  outer  stddte  of 
Wieden  and  Landstrasse.  This  chateau  was  built  for  Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy  in  1693, 
and  about  thirty  years  following. .  It  consists  of  two  palaces  called  the  Upper  and  the 
Lower  Belvederes.  The  Upper  palace  is  the  main  chateau  ;  it  was  built  in  the  shape  of 
an  open  triangle  around  a  large  court  which  opens  on  one  of  the  city  streets.  This  con- 
tains the  Imperial  Picture  Gallery,  which  ranks  among  the  greatest  in  the  world.  To 
the  Lower  Belvedere  it  is  a  pleasant  down-hill  walk  through  a  large  terraced  garden. 
The  upper  part  is  laid  out  with  grass  plots,  flower-beds,  fountains  and  statuary,  beyond 
which  are  shady  avenues  under  groves  of  noble  trees.  The  collections  of  the  second 
palace  are  of  antiquities,  armor  and  curiosities. 

The  eastern  sections  of  the  Ring  strasse  are  not  so  imposing,  although  they  too  are 
lined  with  handsome  houses,  but  there  are  more  stores  here  and  more  business  of 
buying  and  selling.  Just  below  the  Opera  House  the  Wien  makes  a  turn  and  flows 
about  a  block  outside  of  the  Rings  all  the  way  to  the  Danube  Canal  ;  it  is  crossed 
by  many  bridges,  leading  to  the  Wieden  stadt,  on  the  south,  where  the  great 
art  schools  and  museums  are,  and  to  the  Landstrasse  stadt  on  the  east.  Here 
are  a  great  many  barracks  and  splendid  institutes,  with  extensive  gardens  and  long 
straight  avenues  lined  with  huge  apartment  houses,  for  the  dwellings  of  Vienna,  like  those 
of  all  other  really  handsome  cities,  are  in  blocks  of  flats  that  hold  many  families  under 
one  roof.  On  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  the  Wien  is  skirted  by  gardens,  bordering 
the  promenades  along  the  quays  ;  the  best  of  these  and  the  most  popular  is  the  old  Stadt 
park,  which  is  a  great  rendezvous  in  summer  evenings.  People  loiter  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  music  stands,  in  the  walks  beneath  the  trees,  or  in  the  pavilion  by  the  pond.  This, 
the  Danube,  and  many  other  stretches  of  water  are  always  gay  in  winter  with  skaters, 
their  fanciful  sledges  and  hearty  ice  sports.  A  bridge,  crossing  the  stream,  leads  to  a 
section  of  this  park  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  which  is  a  charming  children's  play 
ground  called  the  Kinderpark.  The  buildings  of  the  Horticultural  Society  are  just  out- 
side the  park  on  the  Ring,  adding  another  to  the  numerous  places  of  amusement  that 
the  Viennese  support.  This  is  something  like  the  Flora  near  Berlin,  with  its  capacious 
halls  decked  with  plants  and  flowers,  concealing  band's  that  play  the  delicious 
music  of  celebrated  composers.  This  is  a  busy  part  of  town,  where  a  cluster  of  fine 
stores  fill  the  colonnades  and  a  great  many  of  the  old  University  buildings  stand, 
while  the  bridge  at  the  head  of  the  park  with  its  steady  stream  of  people  passing 
east  and  west,  leads  to  the  Central  Market,  the  Mint  of  Vienna,  the  Skating  Ring,  and 
the  Custom  House,  which  has  three  immense  courts  in  the  center,  with  railway  tracks  the 
whole  length.  The  Ring  strasse  ends  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  with  the  Franz- 
Josephs  Quay  in  a  large  drilling  ground  in  front  of  a  magnificent  set  of  barracks.  Along 
the  quay  several  bridges  lead  to  the  Leopoldstadt  above  the  canal,  which  is  famous 


Vienna.  261 

principally  for  its  two  spacious  pleasure  gardens,  opened  to  the  public  in  about  1775.  by 
their  much-misunderstood  Emperor,  Joseph  II.  The  Augarten  lies  on  the  north-western 
part  of  the  Leopoldstadt,  and  is  visited  by  the  manufacturing  people  of  Brigittenau, 
adjoining  ;  the  other  park  is  the  Prater,  the  finest  and  most  extensive  in  the  city. 

It  covers  about  four  thousand  three  hundred  acres  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  city, 
between  the  canal  and  the  main  stream  of  the  Danube.  It  is  almost  twice  the  size  of 
Fairmount  Park  in  Philadelphia,  and  is  reckoned  the  most  beautiful  in  Europe.  For 
about  two  centuries  before  the  reign  of  Joseph  II.,  it  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
imperial  family,  and  used  exclusively  by  them  for  a  hunting  ground.  Much  of  the  fine 
forest  still  stands,  and  here  all  the  people,  to  whom  out- door  life  is  part  of  their  exist- 
ence, may  come  to  enjoy  themselves  after  their  own  fashion.  On  the  main  street  of  the 
Leopoldstadt  is  the  busy  Prater  strasse,  which  ends  in  the  Prater  stern,  a  circular  space 
at  the  park  entrance,  from  which  two  avenues  run  into  the  Prater,  dividing  it  into  three 
fan-shaped  sections.  The  Haupt-allee,  or  principal  avenue,  running  to  the  right,  is  the 
favorite  resort  of  the  fashionable  world  in  May,  where,  beneath  the  quadruple  row  of  fine 
chestnut  trees,  there  are  to  be  seen  the  beautiful  horses,  elegant  carriages,  and  most 
brilliant  people  of  the  gay  capital,  led  by  the  Emperor's  carriage,  taking  the  prescribed 
drive  of  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  Rondeau,  or  a  mile  and  a  half  further  to  the  LustAaus,  a 
fine  restaurant,  where  the  e"lite  of  the  capital  eat  an  ice  or  sip  some  drinks  in  the  cool  of 
the  afternoon's  shade.  There  are  three  cafes  in  the  Prater  ;  one  is  particularly  attractive 
from  an  artificial  mound  opposite,  with  miniature  lakes  and  waterfalls.  On  the 
terrace,  above  the  Prater,  is  the  magnificent  new  Stddtischc  Badeanstalt,  a  city  bath. 
This  includes  a  large  swimming  bath  two  hundred  feet  long  and  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  broad,  four  smaller  basins  for  bathers  who  do  not  swim,  and  an  ample  supply  of 
private  baths,  in  all  accommodating  twelve  hundred  persons  at  once.  The  center  of  the 
park,  between  the  two  allies,  is  known  as  the  Volkprater  or  the  Wurstel  (buffoon  park) ; 
this  is  the  favorite  haunt  of  poor  people,  or  lower  classes.  There  are  numbers  of  cafe's, 
restaurants,  pavilions,  a  w/fo-theater,  and  other  places  of  amusement  for  them  ;  and 
sometimes  fireworks  are  given.  This  part  of  the  park  is  fullest  of  people  on  Sunday  and 
holiday  afternoons  and  is  one  of  the  best  places  to  see  the  great  sights  of  Vienna,  which 
are  the  people.  The  International  Exhibition  of  1873  was  held  in  the  Prater,  where  the 
large  Rotunda,  the  Art  Hall,  and  the  Pavillion  des  Amateurs  have  been  left  standing, 
and  are  now  used  for  regular  exhibitions,  large  concerts,  and  extraordinary  entertain- 
ments. From  the  roof  of  the  Rotunda,  to  which  you  are  admitted  for  twenty  kreuzers, 
about  equal  to  ten  cents,  there  is  a  fine  view  of  the  Prater,  the  Danube,  and  the  new- 
suburbs  lying  beyond.  Notwithstanding  all  their  love  of  pleasure  and  gayety,  that  is 
dissipation  sometimes,  the  Viennese  are  not  a  shiftless  people  ;  some  of  them,  at  least, 
work.  It  is  the  center  of  a  very  important  railway  system,  which  radiates  in  all  direc- 
tions, connecting  especially  with  Russia  and  Turkey,  running  through  Hungary  till  it 


262  Cities  of  the    World. 

reaches  the  Levant  and  Italy.  Some  of  the  manufactures  of  the  city  are  of  world-wide 
fame,  particularly  fancy  leathers,  meerschaum  pipes,  jewelry,  clocks,  musical  and  optical 
instruments,  silks  and  velvets.  There  is  refinement  and  culture,  too,  that  attract  people 
from  all  nations  ;  you  see  it  in  their  dress,  their  manners,  and  their  way  of  living  ;  but 
it  is  not  an  intellectual  city,  although  the  university  is  five  centuries  old  and  numbers 
two  or  three  thousand  students  and  almost  a  hundred  and  fifty  professors.  The  entire 
population  of  Vienna  is  one  million  two  hundred  thousand. 

The  great  central  state  of  the  new  empire  of  Austria-Hungary,  is  the  territory  of  the 
ancient  and  powerful  kingdom  of  Hungary.  It  is  united  with  Austria  proper,  by  having 
the  same  ruler  :  the  Emperor  of  Austria  is  king  of  Hungary.  The  kingdom  is  large  and 
has  great  resources  in  fertile  plains,  vineyards,  gardens,  forests,  and  orchards,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  favored  countries  in  Europe  for  its  valuable  minerals.  The  Hungarians, 
or  Magyars  as  they  call  themselves,  are  more  inclined  to  raise  stock  and  crops  than  to 
manufacture,  and  for  that  reason  they  are  not  a  race  of  city-building  people.  It  has  been 
said,  with  exaggeration,  that  there  is  only  one  noteworthy  city  in  Hungary.  This  is  the 
capital,  Buda-Pesth,  on  the  Danube,  which  makes  up  for  the  others  in  overflowing  with 
life,  in  active  trade,  and  brilliant  society.  Next  to  Vienna  it  is  the  most  important  city 
on  the  Danube,  and  is  connected  by  railway  with  all  the  large  towns  in  the  country. 
The  center  of  trade  is  along  the  magnificent  quays  that  border  the  banks  of  the  river, 
which,  in  the  center  of  the  city,  is  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  wide,  and  always  full  of 
almost  every  variety  of  river  craft. 

Part  of  this  shipping  trade  is  in  the  products  of  the  country  round  about — corn,  flour 
and  timber,  or  wine  and  brandy  ;  some  of  these  come  from  the  lovely  vineyards 
surrounding  the  town,  and  the  wool  or  cattle  brought  in  from  the  farms  of  the  peasantry. 
There  are  markets  held  every  week  when  the  country  people  bring  in  what  they  raise  ; 
during  each  year  there  are  four  large  fairs  held.  The  factories  of  Buda  Pesth  make 
beautiful  dress  goods,  meerschaum  pipes,  leather,  gold  and  silver  articles,  besides  heavier 
things  like  carriages,  machinery  and  iron  wares.  The  railway  keeping  a  regular  com- 
munication open  between  the  capital  and  country  places,  has  taken  away  the  great  need 
of  the  fairs  of  late  years ;  but  they  are  still  important  occasions,  when  almost  half  of 
Hungary  is  supplied  with  what  is  needed  for  daily  living  in  exchange  for  what  their  work 
or  land  produces.  These  gatherings  have  many  odd  and  fantastic  sights  ;  hundreds  of 
peasants  in  their  various  costumes  are  gathered  in  the  city,  making  living  pictures  of  the 
fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century  set  in  the  modern  surrounding  of  magnificent  new  build- 
ings and  broad  streets.  The  peasants,  often  wearing  leather  jerkins  and  undressed  skins,  are 
very  merry  and  light-hearted,  and  enter  heartily  into  the  gay  dances  and  lively  songs,  or 
the  rough-and-tumble  games  that  are  to  them  an  important  part  of  the  fairs.  They  partic- 
ularly delight  in  contests  with  their  horses,  which  are  taught  all  manner  of  tricks.  One 
of  their  chief  enjoyments  is  to  see  how  long  a  rider  can  stay  on  a  horse  trying  to 


Buda-Pesth.  263 

unseat  him.  Men  and  women  enjoy  this  sport  alike,  and  being  quick  and  supple,  take 
any  amount  of  tumbles  in  great  glee,  without  being  hurt  at  all. 

The  common  people  of  Hungary  live  in  a  primitive  way,  and  have  most  simple 
wants.  "At  the  fairs  they  prepare  their  food  like  gipsies,  wrap  themselves  in  their 
blankets  or  sheep-skin  coats  and  sleep  soundly  on  the  ground  or  under  their  stalls  or 
wagons,  the  earth  being  their  couch  and  the  sky  their  roof.  They  are  ignorant  and 
superstitious,  but  they  are  also  sturdy,  independent  and  exceedingly  patriotic."  Beside 
the  native  Hungarians  there  are  people  from  many  other  places  of  southern  and  eastern 
Europe,  and  almost  every  country  adjoining.  But  this  also  is  the  character  of  the  city, 
especially  the  part  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  which  was  the  separate  city  of  Buda, 
until  1872,  although  the  two  places  had  been  connected  by  a  large  suspension  bridge 
for  about  twenty-five  years.  The  Germans  call  it  Of  en  or  oven,  from  its  great  sulphur 
and  hot  spring,  and  by  this  name  it  is  most  generally  known. 

This  is  really  a  city  in  itself,  with  characteristics  distinct  from  the  level,  stately 
Pesth,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  The  streets  and  squares  of  Ofen,  with  their 
mingling  of  quaint  and  modern  buildings,  range  like  an  amphitheater  around  the  base 
and  up  the  sides  of  a  rocky  hill;  the  top  is  level  and  crowned  by  a  fortress  and  castle 
from  which  it  is  named  the  Schloss-berg,  or  Castle  Hill.  This  is  the  center  of  observa- 
tion for  both  sections  of  the  city,  the  majestic  hills  near  by  with  their  fortifications  and 
precipitous  fronts  toward  the  water,  and  the  fair  green  vineyards  on  the  plains  almost 
encircling  the  adjoining  suburbs.  The  citadel  is  almost  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea-level,  and  incloses  within  its  walls  a  beautiful  royal  palace  which  Maria  Theresa 
built  in  1770.  It  was  partially  destroyed  some  thirty  years  ago,  but  was  restored  and 
now  stands  in  regal  splendor  as  the  residence  of  the  king  (Emperor  of  Austria,  but 
king  in  Hungary),  when  it  is  his  pleasure  to  stay  here.  The  garden  surrounding  the 
chateau  extends  down  to  the  river,  with  a  fine  view  of  Pesth  and  the  water  even  from  the 
Palace  Bazar,  or  from  the  cafe  on  the  bank. 

Ofen  differs  in  appearance  and  in  people  from  most  of  the  Danubian  cities.  There 
is  a  somber  Mohammedan  mosque  over  the  grave  of  the  saint  Sheik  Giib  Baba,  fre- 
quently visited  by  pilgrims  from  Turkey  ;  numerous  buildings  are  partly  or  wholly  in 
the  style  of  the  East  ;  many  of  the  customs  of  the  people  and  their  manners  of  business 
dealing  are  from  the  Orient,  and  the  Moorish  baths  are  an  important  feature  of  the  place. 
For  more  than  a  century  during  the  Middle  Ages,  Buda  was  held  by  the  Turks  ;  and 
some  of  the  baths  they  established  are  still  used  a  great  deal.  One  of  these,  the  Kaiser- 
bad,  is  a  favorite  resort  ;  adjoining  is  a  Turkish  fortification  on  the  river.  It  has  eleven 
springs  that  vary  in  temperature  from  80°  to  150°  Fahrenheit.  There  are  large  swim- 
ming basins  for  gentlemen  and  ladies,  and  adjoining  are  fine  colonnades,  and  cafe's 
looking  out  upon  the  gardens.  There  is  always  music  here,  which  adds  to  the  other 
attractions — things  to  eat  and  drink, — and  draws  many  people. 


264  Cities  of  the  World. 

The  Hungarians  are  fond  of  music  and  company,  and  frequent  restaurants  and  cafes 
a  great  deal.  Sunday  is  chief  reception  day  at  all  cafes,  the  laws  and  customs  of  all  Ger- 
many being  different  from  ours  in  regard  to  the  Sabbath.  The  people  gather  by  hund- 
reds, in  their  peculiar  national  costume  ;  they  stroll  about,  or  sit  at  the  tables  consum- 
ing hours  in  smoking,  talking  and  drinking  beer,  which  is  said  to  be  the  German  equiv- 
alent for  water.  They  are  overflowing  with  love  for  their  country,  so  their  conversation 
runs  mostly  upon  the  past  and  the  future  of  Hungary  ;  few  of  them  are  satisfied  with  a 
government  united  to  Austria.  Mingled  with  the  native  Hungarians  there  are  Jews,  Turks, 
Greeks,  and  men  and  women  of  all  nations.  It  is  quite  another  class  of  people  that  you 
see  in  the  Raitzenbad,  a  bath  for  the  poor,  also  in  Buda,  between  the  Schlossberg  gate 
and  the  larger  hill  of  Blocksberg.  The  bath  itself  is  a  large  and  dismal  vault,  with  a 
few  openings  for  light ;  but  the  sight  is  "the  people,  who  gather  about  the  huge  basin  of 
.hot  water  in  the  center.  They  plunge  about,  screaming  and  jumping,  jostling  and 
pushing,  wrestling  and  playing  leap-frog,  like  frantically  gay  creatures  that  seem  to  belong 
to  some  other  world  ;  the  hot  sulphurous  water  seems  to  affect  their  spirits  like  liquor, 
although  many  of  them  are  old  men  and  women.  Bathing  is  not  a  German  custom,  but 
it  is  thoroughly  seated  here  ;  and  in  the  beautiful  parks  on  Margaret  Island,  just  above 
the  city,  there  is  an  elegant  new  bath,  with  fine  hotels  and  villas,  for  patients  who  are 
staying  in  Buda-Pesth  for  the  benefit  of  the  waters.  The  finest  part  of  Pesth  is  the  site  of 
the  old  twelfth  century  settlement,  the  Inner  Town,  that  lies  along  the  river.  Unlike 
Buda,  it  is  level,  and  so  low  that  it  is  diked  in  from  the  river.  The  broad  quay  is  like  a 
fine  boulevard,  terraced  and  flanked  by  imposing  buildings,  with  the  magnificent  academy 
in  the  center,  opposite  the  suspension  bridge.  This  is  the  seat  of  the  leading  scientific 
society  in  Hungary,  and  contains  also  a  picture  gallery  famous  for  some  great  works  by 
Murillo,  Raphael,  and  other  old  masters.  Throughout  the  city  there  is  a  fine  display  of 
large  public  and  private  buildings.  The  Inner  Town  is  the  center  of  fashion  and  trade, 
and  around  it  are  grouped  four  stddte  or  towns  in  a  semi-circle,  laid  out  in  short  and 
regular  cross  streets  between  the  long  avenues  that  radiate  from  the  Old  Town.  These 
thoroughfares  are  wide,  straight,  and  well  paved,  and  lined  with  handsome  buildings. 
The  aristocracy,  university,  law  courts  and  government  buildings,  with  the  most  mag- 
nificent stores,  are  in  the  Inner  Stadt.  Altogether  four-fifths  of  the  people  of  the  city 
live  on  this  side  of  the  river  ;  the  entire  population  is  about  three  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand,  more  people  than  live  in  Amsterdam,  the  capital  of  the  Netherlands.  "  The 
brightest  jewel  in  the  imperial  crown  of  Austria  is  Bohemia,"  with  its  fertile  soil,  wealth 
of  minerals,  abundant  resources,  and  industrious  people.  In  the  center  of  this  rich  and 
beautiful  land  is  the  famous  city  of  Prague.  This  is  the  third  city  in  the  monarchy  in 
size  ;  but  for  its  beautiful  situation,  its  quaint  architecture  and  important  place  in  history, 
it  has  no  equal  among  all  the  cities  of  Germany.  On  both  sides  of  the  Moldau, 
spanned  by  many  tower-guarded  bridges,  it  stretches  up  the  sides  of  its  rocky  basin  in 


Prague. 


265 


a  lovely  picture  of  some  thriving  city  of  the  Middle  Ages,  framed  by  the  verdant  sum- 
mits of  the  hills.     It  scarcely  seems  possible,  as  you  gaze  at  it  from  the  Carlsbruke,  that 


PRAGUE. 


it  can  be  an  active,  wide-awake  place  of  the  nineteenth  century,  with  about  a  hundred 
and  seventy-five  thousand  people,  who  almost  lead  the  Empire  in  manufacturing  and  trade. 
Yet,  it  is  all  true  ;  and  the  well-equipped  University,  after  centuries  of  neglect,  is  alive 


266  Cities  of  the  World. 

with  students  and  professors.  It  is  the  oldest  University  in  Germany,  and  in  the  fifteenth 
century  was  the  most  celebrated  in  the  world,  with  twenty  thousand  students.  The  city 
is  surrounded  by  walls  and  bastions,  entered  by  eight  antique  gates,  and  commanded  by 
the  grand  old  fortified  citadel  above  the  river,  which  was  once  the  residence  of  the  early 
dukes  of  Bohemia.  The  gates  and  towers,  the  quaint  houses  with  their  fantastic  decora- 
tions, lining  the  narrow  streets,  and  even  the  foot-ways,  wrought  with  blue  and  yellow 
limestone,  with  Arabesque  patterns,  are  unlike  any  other  sight  in  Europe.  There  are 
new  buildings  and  push  enough  in  the  people ;  but  they  are  proud  of  keeping  their 
Bohemian  character  ;  they  take  care  to  preserve  their  language,  too,  and  will  not 
exchange  it  for  the  most  "  polite  high  Dutch  "  of  the  Empire. 

Placards  and  signs  on  shop  fronts  and  walls  are  all  in  the  vernacular.  "  A  few  leisurely 
strolls  through  the  streets  would  almost  serve  the  purpose  of  grammar  and  dictionary, 
especially  as  several  of  the  advertisers  are  so  considerate  as  to  give  a  German  translation 
alongside."  But  they  are  Europeanizing  gradually,  especially  in  dress.  "  The  dark- 
colored  long  coat,  with  belt  and  plume  of  dyed  cock  feathers  in  a  dark  felt  hat,  worn  by 
the — for  the  most  part  unoccupied — police,  is  about  the  only  characteristic  costume  you 
see  now  among  this  busy  good  tempered  and  well-conducted  people,"  except  on  some  of 
the  market  days.  There  are  a  remarkable  number  of  book  stores  in  Prague,  and  the 
photographs  in  the  shop  windows  seem  without  number.  Like  most  other  German  cities, 
Prague  has  an  old  town,  the  most  busy  and  full  of  people,  and  new  stddte  beyond.  At 
every  turn  there  are  statues,  tablets,  and  historical  relics,  reminding  the  visitor  of  the 
great  men  and  important  events  that  have  been  connected  with  the  city  that  has  been 
great  for  so  many  centuries,  and  is  growing  still.  The  principal  seaboard  trade  of  Austria 
is  centered  at  Trieste,  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic.  Nearly  one-third  of  all  the  sea 
trade  of  the  monarchy  is  carried  on  here  ;  it  is  also  the  chief  port  of  the  Adriatic.  It  is 
a  beautiful  city,  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  (the  size  of  Washington,  D.C.), 
at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  of  the  Karst,  the  heights  of  this  desert  tract  of  limestone  bluffs 
in  the  background  being  covered  with  gardens,  orchards,  vineyards  and  many  elegant 
villas.  The  Schlossberg,  crowned  with  an  old  castle  and  fortifications,  overlooks  the  old 
town,  whose  crooked,  narrow  streets,  with  a  number  of  great  public  squares,  either  creep 
by  its  rocky  sides  or  lie  at  its  foot  on  the  southern  side*  of  the  semi-circular  harbor. 
Separated  by  the  handsome  cross,  the  main  street  of  the  city,  lies  the  New  Town.  This 
is  made  up  of  wide,  regular  streets,  lined  with  handsome  houses,  and  skirting  the  east  and 
north  shores  of  the  port  ;  it  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  great  canal  running  up  into 
the  center  of  the  city.  There  are  many  noteworthy  places  in  this  celebrated  seaport,  the 
finest  of  all  being  the  Tergesteum,  which  is  a  splendid  modern  building  in  the  New  Town. 
It  is  named  from  the  ancient  Romans,  who  held  this  port  as  early  as  fifty  years  before 
Christ,  and  called  it  Tergestum.  Trieste  is  very  proud  of  the  title  of  "  the  most  loyal 
of  towns,"  which  it  has  borne  since  1816. 


THE  LEVANT.* 


ALL  the  regions  beyond  Italy,  bordering  the  eastern  part  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
are  commonly  known  in  Europe  as  the  Levant.  This  usually  includes  Asia  Minor, 
Turkey,  Syria,  Greece,  Egypt  and  the  adjacent  country,  but  it  does  not  extend  east  of 
the  Euphrates  River.  In  the  time  of  the  ancients  and  during  the  middle  ages  some  of 
the  grandest  cities  of  the  world  flourished  here,  but  nowadays  the  most  important  places 
in  the  Levant  take  second  or  third  rank  among  our  great  cities. 

The  greatest  Levantine  city  is  Constantinople.        To  come  into  Constantinople  on  a 

fine  morning  is  a  great  moment  in  a 
man's  life.  You  enter  the  Bosphorus 
— that  arm  of  the  sea  which  divides 
Asia  from  Europe,  and  joins  the  Sea 
of  Marmora  to  the  Black  Sea — then  go 
up  a  narrow  roadstead  which  lies  at 
a  right  angle  with  the  Bosphorus,  and 
penetrates  for  several  miles  into  the 
European  land,  curving  like  the  horn 
of  an  ox.  This  is  the  Golden  Horn, 
or,  horn  of  abundance,  because  through 
it  flowed,  when  it  was  part  of  Byzantium, 
the  wealth  of  three  continents.  At  the 
angle  of  the  European  shore,  which  on 
one  side  is  bathed  by  the  waters  of  the 
Sea  of  Marmora,  and  on  the  other  by 
those  of  the  Golden  Horn,  where  once 
Byzantium  stood,  now  rises  upon  seven 
hills,  Stamboul,  the  Turkish  city — at  the 
other  angle,  marked  by  the  Golden  Horn  and  the  Bosphorus,  stand  Galata  and  Pera  above 
it,  the  Prankish  cities — opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Golden  Horn,  upon  the  hills  of  the 
Asiatic  side,  is  the  city  of  Scutari.  That  then  which  is  called  Constantinople  is  composed 
of  three  great  cities,  divided  by  the  sea,  but  placed  the  one  opposite  the  other,  and  the 
third  facing  the  other  two.  From  the  hill  tops  to  the  sea,  quarter  after  quarter  stretch 
along  the  water  thickly  sown  with  houses  and  dotted  with  white  mosques,  rows  of  ships, 

*See  "  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World." 


A    HAREM    WINDOW. 


268 


Cities  of  the  World. 


little  doors,  palaces  rising  from  the  water,  pavilions,  gardens,  kiosks,  groves  ;  a  glow  of 
colors,  and  all  the  sublime  glory  of  Constantinople  is  in  full  view.  The  Golden  Horn  is 
like  a  river,  and  on  either  shore  are  two  chains  of  heights  on  which  rise  and  lengthen  two 
parallel  chains  of  city,  embracing  eight  miles  of  hills,  valleys,  bays  and  promontories  ; 
a  hundred  amphitheaters  of  monuments  and  gardens,  houses,  mosques,  bazars, 
seraglios,  baths,  kiosks  of  infinite  variety  of  colors  ;  in  the  midst  of  thousands  of 
minarets  with  shining  pinnacles  rising  into  the  sky  like  columns  of  ivory  ;  groves  of 
cypress  trees  descending  in  long  lines  from  the  heights  to  the  sea,  engarlanding  suburbs 
and  ports  ;  the  green  of  trees  and  vines  springing  and  gushing  out  everywhere,  waving 
plume-like  in  the  summits,  encircling  the  roofs  and  hanging  over  into  the  water.  Galata 
is  faced  by  a  forest 
of  masts  and  sails  and 
flags  ;  above  Galata, 
Pera,  the  vast  outlines 
of  her  European  pal- 
aces drawn  upon  the 
sky;  in  front,  abridge  |j 
connecting  the  two 
shores  and  traversed 
by  two  opposing 
throngs  of  many  col- 
ored people;  opposite 
Stamboul  stretched 
upon  her  broad 
hills,  upon  each  of 
which  rises  a  gigantic 
mosque  with  leaden 
dome  and  golden  pin-  FOUNTAIN  ST.  SOPHIA. 

nacles;  Saint  Sophia,  white  and  rose  colored  ;  Sultan  Ahmed,  flanked  by  six  minarets  ; 
Soliman  the  Great,  crowned  with  ten  domes  ;  Sultana  Valide,  mirrored  in  the 
waters  ;  on  the  fourth  hill  the  Mosque  of  Mahomet  Second ;  on  the  fifth  the 
Mosque  of  Selim ;  on  the  sixth  the  Seraglio  of  Tekyr ;  and  above  them 
all  the  white  Tower  of  Seraskiarat,  which  overlooks  the  shores  of  both  continents 
from  the  Dardanelles  to  the  Black  Sea."  This  is  Constantinople  from  the  ship  ;  but 
when  you  enter  it  you  find  it  more  the  skeleton  of  a  great  city,  than  the  vast  metro- 
polis it  appeared  to  you.  "  It  is  in  the  process  of  transformation  now,  and  is  made  up  of 
ancient  cities  that  are  in  decay,  new  cities  just  built,  and  others  being  built  ;  on  every 
side  are  traces  of  gigantic  works  ;  "  great  plans  not  yet  completed  give  the  whole  place 
an  appearance  of  civilization  cutting  its  way  through  tracts  of  decay,  or  of  natural  wilds. 


Constantinople.  269 

"  You  go  to  the  head  of  a  fine  street,  it  is  closed  by  a  ravine  or  precipice  ;  you  come  out 
of  the  theater  to  find  yourself  in  the  midst  of  tombs  ;  you  go  up  a  street,  there  is  no 
more  city.  The  streets  bend  into  infinite  angles,  wind  about  among  small  hills,  are 
raised  on  terraces,  skirt  ravines  ;  pass  under  aqueducts,  break  into  alleys,  run  down  steps, 
through  bushes,  rocks,  ruins  and  sand  hills.  Here  and  there  the  great  city  takes  as  it 
were,  a  breathing  time  in  the  country  ;  and  then  begins  again,  thicker,  livelier,  more  highly 
colored  ;  now  it  is  all  red,  now  all  white,  again  all  gold  colors,  and  further  on  it  presents 
the  aspect  of  a  mountain  of  flowers.  In  the  midst  of  Turkish  houses  rise  European 
palaces  ;  behind  the  minaret  stands  the  bell-tower  ;  above  the  terrace  the  dome  ;  beside 
the  dome  the  battlemented  wall  ;  the  Chinese  roofs  of  kiosks  hang  over  the  fagades  of 
theaters  ;  the  grated  balconies  of  the  harem  confront  plate  glass  windows  ;  Moorish  lat- 
tices look  upon  raised  terraces  ;  niches  with  the  Madonna  within,  are  set  beneath  Arabian 
arches  ;  sepulchers  are  in  the  courtyards,  and  towers  among  the  laborers'  cabins  ;  mosques 
and  synagogues,  Greek  churches,  Catholic  churches,  American  churches,  rise  one  above 
another,  amid  a  confusion  of  vanes,  cypresses,  umbrella  pines,  fig  and  plane  trees,  that 
stretch  their  branches  over  the  roofs.  At  every  hundred  paces  all  is  changed.  There  are 
points  of  France,  strips  of  Italy,  fragments  of  England,  relics  of  Russia  ;  there  is  a  con- 
vent of  Dervishes  in  one  street,  a  Moorish  barrack  in  another,  and  Turkish  caf£s, 
bazars,  fountains,  aqueducts,  at  every  turn."  The  great  differences  in  the  people  add 
very  much  to  the  infinite  variety  of  the  city.  The  population  is  made  up  of  people  of 
every  race  and  religion  ;  in  one  place  densely  crowded  ;  in  another  sparsely  scattered  ; 
the  numbers  have  never  yet  been  thoroughly  counted,  although  the  estimate  is  six 
hundred  thousand — about  the  same  as  Chicago,  Illinois,  or  Liverpool,  England.  The 
best  of  all  places  to  see  the  people  is  on  the  floating  bridge,  which  extends  from  the 
most  advanced  point  of  Galata  to  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Golden  Horn,  facing  the 
great  mosque  of  the  Sultana  Valide,  a  distance  of  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile.  Both 
shores  are  European  territory  ;  but  the  bridge  may  be  said  to  connect  Asia  to  Europe, 
because  in  Stamboul  there  is  nothing  European  but  the  ground,  and  even  the  Christian 
suburbs  that  crown  it  are  of  Asiatic  character  and  color.  Standing  on  this  bridge  one  can 
see  all  Constantinople  go  by  in  an  hour.  The  crowd  passes  in  great  waves,  each  one  of  which  i 
is  of  a  hundred  colors,  and  every  group  of  persons  represents  anew  type  of  people.  Behind 
a  throng  of  Turkish  porters  who  pass  running,  and  bending  under  enormous  burdens, 
advances  a  sedan-chair,  inlaid  with  ivory  and  mother-of-pearl,  and  bearing  an  Armenian 
lady  ;  and  at  either  side  of  it  a  Bedouin  wrapped  in  a  white  mantle  or  a  Turk  in  muslin 
turban  and  sky-blue  caftan,  beside  whom  canters  a  young  Greek  gentleman  followed  by  his 
dragoman  in  embroidered  vest,  and  a  dervise  with  his  tall  conical  hat  and  tunic  of  camel's 
hair,  who  makes  way  for  the  carriage  of  an  European  ambassador,  preceded  by  his 
batistrada,  or  running  footman,  in  gorgeous  livery.  All  this  is  only  seen  in  a  glimpse, 
and  the  next  moment  it  is  a  crowd  of  Persians,  in  pyramidal  bonnets  of  Astrakan  fur, 


270  Cities  of  the  World. 

who  are  followed  by  a  Hebrew  in  a  long  yellow  coat,  open  at  the  sides  ;  a  frowzy-headed 
gipsy  woman  with  her  child  in  a  bag  at  her  back  ;  a  Catholic  priest  with  breviary  staff  ; 
while  in  the  midst  of  a  confused  throng  of  Greeks,  Turks,  and  Armenians  comes  a  big 
eunuch  on  horseback,  crying  out  Larya  !  make  way  !  and  preceding  a  Turkish  carriage, 
painted  with  flowers  and  birds,  and  filled  with  the  ladies  of  a  harem  dressed  in  green  and 
violet,  and  wrapped  in  large  white  veils  ;  behind  a  Sister  of  Charity  from  the  hospital  of 
Pera,  an  African  slave  carrying  a  monkey,  and  a  professional  story-teller  in  a  necroman- 
cer's habit,  and  what  is  quite  natural,  but  appears  strange  to  the  newcomer,  all  these 
diverse  people  pass  each  other  without  a  look,  like  a  crowd  in  London  ;  and  not  one 
single  countenance  wears  a  smile.  An  Albanian  in  his  white  petticoat  and  with  pistols 
in  his  sash,  beside  the  Tartar  dressed  in  sheepskins,  the  Turk  astride  of  his  caparisoned 
donkey,  threads  pompously  two  long  strings  of  camels  ;  behind  the  adjutant  of  an  imperial 
prince,  mounted  upon  his  Arab  steed,  clatters  a  cart  filled  with  all  the  odd  domestic  rub- 
bish of  a  Turkish  household  ;  the  Mohammedan  woman  afoot,  the  veiled  slave  woman, 
the  Greek  with  her  red  cap,  and  her  hair  on  her  shoulders,  the  Maltese  hooded  in  her 
black  faldetta,  the  Hebrew  woman  dressed  in  the  antique  costume  of  India,  the  negress 
wrapped  in  a  many  colored  shawl  from  Cairo,  the  Armenian  from  Trebizond,  all  veiled 
in  black  like  a  funeral  apparition  ;"  all  these  and  countless  others  jostle  each  other  as 
they  pass  along.  "  Now  it  is  a  water  carrier  with  a  colored  jar  on  his  back  ;  now  a  Russian 
lady  on  horseback  :  now  a  squad  of  imperial  soldiers  in  zouave  dress  ;  now  a  crew  of 
Armenian  porters,  two  and  two,  carrying  on  their  shoulders  immense  bars,  from 
which  are  suspended  great  bales  of  merchandise. 

"Camels,  horses,  sedan-chairs,  oxen,  carts,  casks  on  wheels,  bleeding  donkeys,  mangy 
dogs  ;  so  it  goes  on  in  greater  multitudes  of  men  and  beasts,  than  can  even  be  named, 
a  steady  tread  of  many,  many  feet  and  a  murmurming  sound  of  voices  above  which  you 
hear  in  every  tongue  the  shrill  cries  of  newspaper  sellers ;  the  shout  of  the  porters,  the 
giggling  laugh  of  the  Turkish  women,  the  falsetto  trill  of  blind  men  chanting  verses  of 
the  Koran,  the  noise  of  the  bridge  as  it  moves  upon  the  water,  the  whistles  and  bells  of 
a  hundred  steamers,"  the  striking  of  hoofs,  sometimes  clear  and  distinct  and  sometimes 
mingled  in  one  mighty  roar.  "  All  this  throng  of  people  embark  in  the  small  steamboats 
that  leave  every  moment  for  Scutari,  for  the  villages  on  trie  Bosphorus,  and  the  suburbs 
of  the  Golden  Horn  ;  they  spread  through  Stamboul,  in  the  bazars,  in  the  mosques," 
far  and  near  they  go  and  return,  blending  together  in  a  constant  stream  of  life  between 
"  ten  cities  and  a  hundred  suburbs." 

"  In  Stamboul  every  thing  is  strictly  Oriental.  The  houses  on  either  side  the  thousand 
alleys  that  wind  about  the  hills  are  all  of  wood,  painted  in  different  colors,  their  upper 
stories  projecting  over  the  lower  ;  and  the  windows  protected  in  front  by  a  sort  of  grated 
gallery  and  closed  by  small  wooden  lattices  that  almost  touch  from  opposite  sides  in  some  of 
the  narrow  streets.  Mysterious  by-ways  often  open  on  a  sudden  turn  into  one  of  the  great 


Constantinople. 


271 


thoroughfares,  flanked  by  magnificent  monuments,  and  lined  with  mosques,  kiosks, 
arched  galleries,  fountains  in  marble  and  laph-lazuli,  mausoleums  of  departed  sultans, 
resplendent  with  arabesques  and  gold  inscriptions,  walls  covered  with  mosaics."  The 
Jews'  Quarter  is  a  filthy  place  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  sixth  hill  in  Stamboul  ;  it  runs 
along  the  shore  of  the  Golden  Horn,  where  it  was  once  ornamented  by  gorgeous  palaces  ; 
it  is  now  full  of  ruins  and  sadness. 

One  of  the   chief  sights  within  the  city  is  the  Great  Bazar  in  Stamboul.      It  is 
reached  by  a  street  that  begins  at  the  fish  market,  so  narrow  that  the  upper  stories  of 


THE    BOSPHORUS. 

the  houses  almost  touch  each  other,  and  lined  with  a  double  row  of  low,  dark  tobacco 
shops,  and  ending  in  a  low,  dark  archway,  festooned  with  vines.  Beyond  this  is  a  vast 
stone  building,  through  which  runs  a  long,  straight,  covered  street,  flanked  by  dark 
shops,  and  crowded  with  people,  cases,  sacks,  and  heaps  of  merchandise.  This  is  the 
Egyptian  bazar,  full  of  wares  from  India,  Syria,  Arabia  and  Egypt.  It  is  a  street  of 
noisy  coppersmiths,  beyond  this,  where  there  are  bad  smelling  Turkish  taverns,  and  a 
thousand  little  black  holes  of  shops.  Then  comes  the  Great  Bazar  itself,  which  outside 
does  not  attract  you  nor  show  any  signs  of  its  contents.  It  is  an  immense  stone  build- 


272 


Cities  of  the   World. 


ing  of  Byzantine  architecture,  and  irregular  form,  surrounded  by  high  gray  walls,  and  sur- 
mounted by  hundreds  of  little  cupolas,  covered  with  lead,  and  perforated  with  holes  to  give 
light  to  the  interior.  The  principal  entrance  is  an  arched  doorway  ;  beyond  which  you 
are  in  a  moment  bewildered  by  the  sight  of  a  labyrinth  of  arcaded  streets  flanked  by 
sculptured  columns  and  pilasters  that  stretch  out  before  you.  It  is  a  real  city,  with 
its  mosques,  fountains,  cross-ways  and  squares,  dimly  lighted  and  filled  with  a  dense  throng 
of  people.  Every  street  is  a  bazar,  almost  all  leading  out  of  one  main  street,  with  an 

arched  roof  of  black  and  white 
stone,  and  decorated  with  arab- 
esques like  the  nave  of  a  mosque. 
In  this  dimly  lighted  thorough- 
fare, carriages,  horsemen  and 
camels  are  constantly  passing, 
making  a  deafening  noise.  At 
every  turn,  by  the  side  doors, 
are  seen  perspectives  of  arches 
anc*  P^asters>  l°ng  corridors, 
narrow  alleys,  a  long  confused 
aspect  of  bazars,  and  shops, 
with  merchandise  piled  up  or 
hanging  from  wall  and  ceiling, 
busy  merchants,  loaded  porters, 
groups  of  veiled  women,  coming 
or  going,  the  merchants  calling 
out  to  the  passers-by  and  en- 
deavoring in  every  language  to 
induce  them  to  buy.  But  the 
confusion  is  only  apparent. 
This  immense  bazar  is  or- 
dered like  a  barrack.  Every 
kind  of  goods  has  its  own  par- 
ticular quarter,  its  streets,  its 
MUSSULMAN  WOMAN.  corridor,  and  its  square.  There 

are  a  hundred  little  bazars  contained  in  one  great  one,  and  opening  one  into  the 
other  like  rooms  of  a  vast  apartment,  and  each  bazar  is  at  the  same  time  a 
museum,  a  market  and  a  theater,  where  you  may  look  on  without  buying  any 
thing,  take  coffee,  enjoy  the  coolness  and  lose  yourself  in  the  fantastic  scene  around 
you.  The  costumes  of  Constantinople  are  undergoing  a  change,  and  before  long  a 
great  deal  of  the  charming  variety  that  has  for  so  long  a  time  been  a  great  feature  of  the 
Turkish  capital  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  "  The  inflexible  old  Turk  still  wears  the  tur- 


Constantinople. 


273 


ban,  the  caftan,  and  the  traditional  slippers  of  yellow  morocco  ;  the  Turk  who  is  on  the 
side  of  reform  in  dress  and  old  time  customs  and  belief,  wears  a  long  black  frock  coat, 
buttoned  to  the  chin,  trowsers  with  straps,  and  nothing  Turkish  but  the  fez,  and  some  of 
the  younger  men  even  wear  cut-away  coats,  light  pantaloons,  and  elegant  cravats,  watch 
chains  and  seals,  and  a  flower  in  the  button-holes.  Many,  between  these  extremes,  are 
in  part  Oriental  and  part  European  dress.  The  women's  clothes,  too,  are  gradually 
undergoing  a  change,  but  they  still  keep  to  the  custom  of  the  veil  and  mantle,  but  the 
veil  has  become  transparent,  and  the  mantle  often  covers  a  dress  of  Paris  pattern." 

What  can  one  not  do  in  Constantinople  ?  There  are  two  continents  and  two  seas 
within  sight.  "  Horses  stand  saddled  in  every  square,  sailboats  in  every  cove,  steamboats 
at  every  flight  of  steps,  the  darting  caique,  the  flying  talika,  and  an  army  of  guides 
speaking  all  the  lan- 
guages of  Europe." 
One  of  the  best  ways 
to  know  what  Con- 
stantinople is  is  to 
make  the  journey 
skirting  Galata  along 
the  northern  shore  of 
the  Golden  Horn. 
Galata  is  built  upon  a 
hill  that  forms  a  pro- 
montory between  the 
Golden  Horn  and  the 
Bosphorus,  and  upon 
the  site  of  the  great 
cemetery  of  ancient 
Byzantium.  The  TOWER. IN  BOSPHORUS. 

streets  are  almost  all  narrow  and  tortuous,  bordered  by  taverns,  pastry-cook  shops, 
butchers'  and  barbers'  shops,  Greek  and  Armenian  cafes,  merchants'  offices,  workshops 
and  the  ever  present  barracks  ;  the  whole  dark,  damp,  muddy  and  sticky  as  in  the  lowest 
London  quarter.  A  dense  and  busy  crowd  throng  the  streets,  constantly  opening  before 
carriages,  porters,  donkeys  and  omnibuses.  Almost  all  the  trade  of  Constantinople 
passes  through  Galata.  Here  are  the  Exchange,  the  Custom  House,  the  office  of  the 
Austrian  Lloyds,  those  of  the  French  Messageries,  churches,  convents,  hospitals  and 
warehouses.  An  underground  railway  unites  Galata  to  Pera,  and  there  is  nothing  Ori- 
ental here  except  turbans  and  fezzes.  European  languages  are  spoken  on  all  sides. 
There  are  two  long  modern  streets  :  one  mounts  the  hill  toward  Pera,  and  the  other  runs 
parallel  to  the  sea-shore  from  one  end  of  Galata  to  the  other,  and  leads  to  the  Sultan's 


274  Cities  of  the   World. 

palace.  The  city  has  the  form  of  an  opened  fan,  and  the  tower  of  Galata  represents  its 
handle.  After  threading  your  way  through  a  series  of  dirty  winding  alleys  you  reach  the 
Tower.  This  is  a  land-mark,  which  rises  upon  the  line  of  the  wall  that  once  separated 
Galata  from  Pera,  and  now  marks  the  limit  of  the  Genoese  quarter.  The  tower  is 
round,  very  high,  of  dark  color,  ending  in  a  conical  point  formed  by  its  copper  roof, 
under  which  runs  a  range  of  large  windows,  where  night  and  day  a  guard 
watches  for  the  first  sign  of  any  fire  that  may  break  out  in  the  city.  Near  the  tower  you 
enter  the  principal  street  of  Pera,  which  is  the  center  of  pleasure  and  elegance,  especially 
for  the  European  colony  in  Constantinople.  The  street  is  bordered  by  English  and 
American  hotels,  handsome  cafes,  glittering  shops,  theaters,  consulates,  clubs  and  palaces 
of  ambassadors.  Here  swarms  a  crowd  quite  different  from  Galata.  In  some  of  the 
adjacent  suburbs  the  people  are  almost  all  Greeks,  while  near  by  is  the  Mussulman 
suburb  of  Kassim-Pasha,  the  heart  of  Turkey  ;  it  is  thickly  set  with  mosques  and  con- 
vents of  dervishes,  full  of  flower  and  vegetable  gardens,  and  occupies  a  hill  and  a  valley, 
and  extends  to  the  waters  of  the  Golden  Horn.  From  the  heights  of  Kassim-Pasha  the 
spectacle  is  an  enchanting  one.  Below  upon  the  shore  is  the  arsenal  of  Ters-Kane  ;  a 
labyrinth  of  docks,  factories,  squares,  store-houses  and  barracks,  that  extends  for  a  mile 
along  that  part  of  the  Golden  Horn  which  is  used  as  a  port  for  vessels  of  war  ;  the  light 
and  elegant  building  of  the  Ministry  of  Marine,  that  seems  floating  on  the  water,  is  seen 
upon  the  dark  green  background  of  the  cemetery  of  Galata  \  the  harbor  is  full  of  small 
steamboats  and  caiques  loaded  with  people,  that  dart  about  among  the  iron-clads  lying 
at  anchor,  and  old  frigates  dating  from  the  Crimean  war  ;  and  on  the  opposite  shore 
Stamboul,  the  aqueduct  of  Vanentinian,  that  throws  its  lofty  arches  against  the  blue  sky, 
the  great  mosques  of  Soliman  and  Mahomet  the  Second,  and  myriads  of  houses  and  min- 
arets. Other  quarters,  Turkish  and  Israelitish,  each  with  its  own  peculiarities,  extend 
beyond,  from  height  to  shore,  all  interesting  and  every  thing  new.  The  Halidgi-Oghli  is 
made  up  of  a  mixture  of  people  ;  it  is  "  a  little  city,  where  at  every  turn  one  meets  a  new 
race  and  a  new  religion.  You  go  up,  you  go  down,  you  climb,  you  wind  about  among 
tombs,  mosques,  churches,  and  synagogues  ;  you  skirt  gardens  and  cross  squares  ;  you 
meet  handsome  Armenian  matrons,  and  veiled  Turkish  women  ;  and  you  hear  Greek, 
Armenian,  and  Spanish  spoken."  What  a  wonderland  yoti  are  in  ! 

Among  the  things  peculiar  to  this  city  are  the  birds.  They  are  infi- 
nite in  number  and  of  every  kind.  All  places  resound  with  the  song,  the  whis- 
tling and  twittering  of  birds.  The  Turks  love  and  care  for  them.  "Spar- 
rows enter  the  houses  boldly  and  eat  off  women's  and  children's  hands ;  swal- 
lows nest  over  the  cafe  doors,  and  under  the  arches  of  the  bazars ;  pigeons  are 
maintained  by  legacies  from  sultans  and  private  individuals  ;  seagulls  dart  and  play 
over  the  water  ;  thousands  of  turtledoves  coo  among  the  cypresses  in  the  cemeteries  ; 
crows  croak  about  the  Castle  of  the  Seven  Towers  ;  halcyons  come  and  go  in  long  files 


276  Cities  of  the    World. 

between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora  ;  and  storks  sit  upon  the  cupolas  of  the 
mausoleums.  For  the  Turk  each  one  of  these  birds  has  a  gentle  meaning  or  a  kind 
virtue,  so  he  protects  and  feeds  them  in  gratitude  and  piety."  His  feeling  for  them  is 
sincere  like  that  for  the  dogs,  which  make  up  "  a  second  population,  forming  a  great  free 
vagabond  republic,  living  in  the  streets,  where  they  dig  little  dens,  and  live  undisturbed 
during  all  their  lives.  They  are  masters  of  the  public  highways  ;  the  people,  the  horses, 
the  camels,  and  the  donkeys,  all  make  way  for  them.  They  are  remarkably  lazy.  They 
lie  down  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  five,  six,  ten  in  a  line,  or  in  a  ring,  sleeping  the  whole 
day,  and  among  throngs  of  people,  the  most  deafening  noises,  unmoved  by  either 
cold  or  heat,  rain  or  shine,  and  scarcely  by  the  imminent  danger  of  being  run  over. 

Although  at  some  hours  of  the  day  Constantinople  seems  to  be  industrious,  in  reality  it 
is  perhaps  the  laziest  city  in  Europe.  Turks  and  Franks — or  Europeans — are  alike  in 
this.  Every  body  gets  up  as  late  as  possible.  The  sun  is  high  before  it  is  possible  even 
to  get  a  cup  of  coffee.  Then  there  are  the  holidays  :  the  Turkish  Friday,  the  Jewish 
Sabbath,  the  Christian  Sunday,  the  innumerable  saints'  days  of  the  Greek  and  Armenian 
calendar,  all  scrupulously  observed.  There  are  offices  that  are  only  opened  twenty-four 
hours  in  eight  days.  Every  day  one  or  the  other  of  the  five  peoples  of  the  great  city 
goes  lounging  about  the  streets,  in  holiday  dress,  with  no  other  thought  than  to  kill  time." 
Everywhere  you  see  a  great  amount  of  liberty,  which  results  in  the  different  nationalities 
keeping  their  own  manners  and  customs,  or  adopting  any  others  that  they  choose,  within 
the  bounds  of  law  and  order. 

The  greatest  things  to  see  in  Constantinople  are  the  mosque  of  Saint  Sophia,  the 
Old  Seraglio,  the  palaces  of  the  Sultan,  and  the  Castle  of  Seven  Towers.  In  the  square 
of  St.  Sophia  is  the  famous  pagoda-like  fountain  of  Sultan  Ahmed  Third,  a  little  edifice 
all  of  white  marble  covered  with  richest  ornamentation.  There  is  not  a  space  as  big  as  a 
hand  that  is  not  carved  and  gilded  and  embroidered.  From  this  colossal  jewel  is  seen 
the  mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  filling  up  one  side  of  the  square,  with  its  high  white  minarets 
that  rise  one  at  each  of  the  four  corners  upon  pedestals  as  big  as  houses.  The  dome, 
which  looks  so  grand  from  a  distance,  seems  small  near  by  ;  it  is  a  flattened  dome, 
flanked  by  two  half  domes  covered  with  lead,  and  perforated  with  a  wreath  of  windows, 
supported  upon  four  walls  painted  in  stripes  of  pink  and  white  ;  on  the  eastern  side 
there  is  a  door  ornamented  by  six  columns  of  porphyry  and  marble  ;  at  the  southern  side 
another  door  by  which  you  enter  a  court,  surrounded  by  low,  irregular  buildings,  in  the 
midst  of  which  bubbles  a  fountain,  covered  by  an  arched  roof  with  eight  columns.  From 
the  outside  Saint  Sophia's  would  never  pass  for  the  "  greatest  temple  in  the  world  after 
St.  Peter's  ;  "  but  within  is  the  marble-lined  vestibule,  glittering  with  ancient  mosaics, 
the  grand  nave,  with  its  domes  and  columns,  its  galleries  and  porticos,  its  tribunes  and 
gigantic  arches  ;  its  wonderful  great  dome,  whose  stateliness,  color  and  variety  bewilder 
you  ;  and  as  you  go  from  one  part  to  another  the  magnificence  of  art  grows  upon  you 


Damascus.  277 

with  every  step.  "  St.  Sophia's  stands  opposite  the  principal  entrance  of  the  Old  Seraglio, 
the  great  historic  monument  of  the  Ottoman  dynasty.  It  was  at  once  a  royal  palace,  a 
fortress,  and  a  sanctuary  ;  a  city  within  a  city,  a  monstrous  palace  placed  upon  the  most 
eastern  of  the  Stamboul  hills,  which  descends  gently  toward  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  the 
mouth  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  Golden  Horn.  The  whole  hill  is  encircled  at  its  base  by  a 
battlemented  wall  with  towers.  Along  the  sea  this  wall  is  also  the  city  wall.  The  Seraglio 
stands  on  the  hill-top,  with  a  circlet  of  walls  immediately  surrounding,  But  it  is 
no  longer  in  its  Ottoman  grandeur.  The  railway  passes  through  the  outer  walls  ; 
hospitals,  barracks,  and  military  schools  stand  in  the  devastated  gardens ;  and  many  of 
the  old  buildings  that  remain  have  been  changed  in  form  and  use.  The  famous  residence 
of  the  Sultans  is  the  D'olma  Bagtche,  and  rises  from  the  shore  of  the  Bosphorus  ;  it  is  only 
possible  to  get  a  view  of  the  whole  of  it  from  a  boat.  The  facade,  which  is  half  a  mile 
long,  is  turned  toward  Asia,  and  can  be  seen  for  a  great  distance,  shining  white 
between  the  blue  of  the  sea  and  the  dark  green  of  the  hill ;  it  presents,  with  its 
many  styles  of  architecture,  the  majestic  appearance  of  the  royal  palaces  of  Eu- 
rope, combined  with  the  graces  of  the  Moorish  buildings  of  Seville  and  Granada, 
altogether  a  vast  Imperial  City,  as  they  say  in  China,  with  its  palaces,  its  temples, 
its  theaters,  endless  in  variety,  magnificence,  and  fantastic  beauty.  The  old 
Castle  of  the  Seven  Towers  stands  where  the  land  wall  of  the  great  triangle  of  the 
Mussulman  city  joins  the  sea  wall.  It  is  now  nothing  but  a  skeleton  of  a  castle,  a  state 
prison,  guarded  by  a  few  soldiers.  The  Turks  call  it  Jedi-Kul,  and  it  is  for  them  what 
the  Bastile  was  to  the  French,  and  the  Tower  of  London  to  the  English  ;  a  monument 
recalling  the  worst  epochs  of  the  tyranny  of  the  Sultans. 

The  largest  city  in  Syria,  or  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  is  Damascus.  It  is  probably  the 
most  ancient  of  cities,  as  it  is  the  most  Oriental,  and  at  a  distance  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  places  in  the  world.  From  the  lofty  hill  on  the  west  the  view  is  one  of  the 
sights  of  the  earth.  The  Damascenes  say  it  is  the  earthly  reflection  of  Paradise.  In  the 
midst  of  charming  gardens,  brightened  by  flowers  of  every  hue,  rich  cornfields  and 
blooming  orchards,  with  the  river  Barrada  and  its  branches  winding  through  until  they 
lose  themselves  far  to  the  east  in  the  lake  Bahr-el-Merj,  into  which  the  Phege,  a  smaller 
stream,  also  flows,  — in  the  midst  of  all  this  indescribably  beautiful  picture,  the  bright 
buildings  of  the  city  rise,  gleaming  snow-white  in  a  long  and  rather  narrow  stretch.  On 
the  outskirts  rise  multitudes  of  tall  poplar  trees  in  dark  and  stately  forms,  and  rich 
groves  and  orchards  of  walnut,  fig,  pomegranate,  citron,  and  apricot.  The  city  is 
famous  for  this  magnificent  picture,  and  equally  famous,  alas,  for  disappointing  every  one 
on  nearer  view,  with  its  old,  tumbledown  walls,  shabby  houses  and  narrow  streets.  The 
mean  looking  houses  so  cramp  the  dirty  streets,  that  a  loaded  donkey  blocks  the  way,  and 
foot-passengers  hasten  to  get  into  the  doorway  of  the  nearest  house  until  the  blockade  has 
passed  by.  The  outsides  of  the  houses  have  nothing  but  a  door-way  to  break  the  stretch 


278  Cities  of  the    World. 

of  dead  wall  with  their  projecting  upper  stories,  shutting  out  all  but  a  thin  strip  of  sky. 
But  after  you  have  recovered  from  your  first  disappointment  in  Damascus,  it  will 
grow  interesting  to  you,  especially  if  you  study  any  thing  of  its  history.  The 
houses  which  look  so  unattractive  outside  are  often  very  beautiful  within,  with  fine 
marble-paved  courts,  ornamented  with  trees,  shrubs,  and  fountains,  rooms  with  roofs 
and  walls  decorated  with  arabesques,  and  most  luxuriously  furnished. 

In  the  south-eastern  part  of  town  is  the  Jewish  Quarter,  and  above  it  is  the  Christian 
Quarter,  where  the  lanes  are  narrow  and  the  houses  are  in  a  ruinous  condition,  while 
between  them  runs  the  only  broad,  respectable  street  in  the  old  city,  Derb-el-Mustakim, 
familiar  to  us  in  the  Scripture  as  "  the  Street  that  is  called  Straight."  Muslims  occupy 
the  other  parts  of  the  town.  These  quarters  are  subdivided  into  smaller  sections,  each 
closed  off  from  the  other  at  night  by  wooden  gates,  kept  by  blind  public  paupers.  "  The 
present  form  of  Damascus  is  something  like  a  spoon,  with  the  new  quarter  of  Meidan  for  a 
handle."  This  is  about  a  mile  long  and  occupies  only  one  street,  and  is  quite  different 
from  any  other  part  of  the  town.  The  whole  suburb  is  comparatively  new,  and  none  o'f 
the  many  dilapidated  mosques  on  each  side  of  the  broad,  badly-paved  street,  are  over  a 
couple  of  centuries  old.  This  is  very  modern  for  a  city  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Gene- 
sis. The  bazar,  occupied  mostly  by  smiths  and  corn-dealers,  is  particularly  interesting 
when  a  caravan  arrives.  "A  long  string  of  camels  stalks  through  the  street,  accom- 
panied by  ragged  Bedouins  with  matted  hair  and  wild  appearance.  In  the  midst  of  the 
procession  the  Hauranian  is  bringing  his  corn  to  market,  and  the  Kurd  shepherd,  clad  in 
his  square  cloak  of  felt,  is  driving  his  flock  to  the  slaughter-house.  The  Bedouins,  poor 
as  they  are,  often  ride  beautiful  horses,  guiding  them  with  a  halter  only  ;  they  are  usually 
armed  with  a  long  lance,  and  rarely  with  a  gun.  In  the  midst  of  the  noisy  city  these 
half-savages  are  quite  out  of  their  element.  Some  of  them  called  Shebis,  live 
chiefly  by  gazelle  hunting,  and  wear  gazelle  skins,  but  these  do  not  often  come  to  town. 
Sometimes  a  Druse  of  high  rank  comes  in  riding  at  the  head  of  an  armed  troop.  His 
appearance  is  imposing,  his  turban  is  snowy  white,  he  is  equipped  with  a  lance,  handsome 
pistols,  a  sword,  and  perhaps  a  gun  also,  and  his  horse  is  often  richly  caparisoned.  There 
are  two  days  in  the  year  when  almost  every  type  of  the  countrymen  pass  through  here. 
These  are  on  the  day  when  the  great  caravan  starts  for  Mecca,  and  on  the  day  of  its 
return.  The  Pilgrimage  passes  in  and  out  of  the  gate  at  the  end  of  the  Meidan,  which 
from  its  connection  with  this  religious  mission,  is  called  God's  Gate.  In  1873  tne  P^" 
grimage  caravan  returned  on  April  i6th,  and  each  successive  year  it  arrives  about  eleven 
days  later  than  the  year  before.  The  grotesque  camel-litters  of  this  procession  are  rudely 
made  of  wood  covered  with  colored  cloth,  and  open  in  front ;  they  carry  several  people, 
reclining  on  Oriental-looking  couches.  The  litter  is  sometimes  borne  by  two  camels,  one 
before,  and  the  other  behind,  which  are  trained  to  keep  step  with  each  other.  The 
camels  are  adorned  with  a  headgear  of  leather  straps,  to  which  shells,  coins,  and  small 


Damascus.  2  79 

bells  are  attached.  A  handsome,  richly  caparisoned  camel  bears  a  large  litter,  which  is 
hung  with  green  cloth  embroidered  with  gold,  and  contains  an  old  Koran  and  the  green 
flag  of  Mohammed  the  prophet.  The  party  is  accompanied  by  many  half-naked  der- 
vishes, and  by  an  escort  of  soldiers,  Druses,  and  Bedouins.  The  pilgrims,  who  have  an 
eye  to  business  as  well  as  religion,  bring  back  goods  from  Mecca." 

The  great  bazar  of  Damascus  is  in  the  inner  part  of  the  city,  and  is  divided  into 
sections,  on  the  same  plan  as  that  of  Constantinople.  In  among  them  are  cafes, 
one  that  is  particularly  attractive  is  situated  on  a  terrace,  near  some  of  the  khans 
or  wholesale  houses  ;  the  Great  Khan  is  a  splendid  building  of  black  and  white 
marble,  and  all  about  it  is  a  vast  crowd  of  quaint,  picturesque  Oriental  life. 
"The  bazar  is  an  exceedingly  noisy  place,  with  the  lusty  singing  of  beggars  and 
vendors  rising  above  the  constant  din  of  ordinary  voices,  mingled  with  the  noise  of 
workmen,  and  the  sonorous  repetition  of  the  Mohammedan  creed  by  the  muezzins,  which 
resounds  from  one  minaret  to  another  throughout  the  whole  city,  for  mosques  are  at 
every  turn.  The  handicraftsmen  of  Damascus  appear  to  be  very  industrious  as  a  class. 
The  barber,  too,  in  his  stall,  hung  round  with  mirrors,  incessantly  and  skillfully  plies  his 
trade  of  shaving  heads  and  bleeding.  The  .public  writers,  who  sit  at  the  corners  of 
the  streets,  are  often  surrounded  by  peasants  and  Bedouins,  and  sometimes  by  women. 
The  engraver  of  seals  is  another  important  personage  here,  as  a  man  adds  his  seal  and 
not  his  signature  to  important  business  papers.  The  Persians  are  particularly  noted  for 
their  skill  in  seal  engraving  and  caligraphy.  All  these  craftsmen  begin  their  daily  tasks 
at  a  very  early  hour,  but  the  merchants  do  not  open  their  shops  till  eight  in  the  morning, 
and  close  them  at  about  half  an  hour  before  sunset.  Persons  who  walk  about  the  streets 
after  dark  are  liable  to  be  arrested  if  they  do  not  carry  a.fdnds,  that  is,  one  of  the  tin  or 
paper  lanterns  common  in  the  city.  At  the  gate  of  each  quarter  one  must  shout,  '  Open, 
O  watchman  ! '  for  the  poor  old  gate-keeper  to  let  him  through."  In  the  midst  of  one 
of  the  bazar  streets  the  Citadel  of  Damascus  towers  above  the  shops,  and  surrounded  by 
its  reedgrawn  moat.  This  was  built  in  580,  with  thick  walls  and  twelve  great  projecting 
towers  and  overhanging  stories.  Toward  the  east  there  is  a  small  postern  ;  but  the  main 
entrance  is  the  Western  Gate.  There  are  four  antique  columns  in  this  side,  which  once 
partly  supported  a  large  reception  room,  whose  roof  has  now  fallen.  The  chambers  of 
the  castle  that  are  still  preserved  contain  collections  of  ancient  weapons,  and  the  sacred 
tent  which  is  carried  by  the  caravan  of  pilgrims  to  Mecca.  Not  far  away  through  the 
crooked,  narrow  streets  is  the  Great  Mosque,  once  very  beautiful,  but  now  much  marred 
and  partly  in  ruins. 

The  famous  swords  of  wonderfully-tempered  steel  for  which  ancient  Damascus  was  so 
noted  are  not  made  here  now.  No  manufactures  are  very  extensive  ;  the  silks,  cottons, 
jewelry,  saddlery,  arms  and  other  things,  of  which  you  see  such  quantities  in  the 
bazars,  are  rarely  enough  to  supply  any  foreign  trade.  There  are  said  to  be  about  a 


280  Cities  of  the   World. 

hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  in  the  city  and  the  adjoining  suburbs,  but  the  figures 
can  not  be  given  exactly. 

Smyrna,  while  one  of  the  most  important  cities  of  Asia  Minor  now,  was  far  greater 
in  ancient  days.  It  has  about  the  same  number  of  people  as  Damascus,  but  has  more 
life  than  the  "  city  of  earthly  paradise."  The  harbor  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Smyrna 
is  so  fine  that  ships  of  large  burden  anchor  close  to  the  quays.  The  trade,  by  railway 
also,  is  very  extensive  and  important.  Some  of  the  buildings  are  handsomely  built  of 
stone  ;  but  the  city  is  mainly  made  up  of  ill-paved,  narrow,  crooked,  dirty  streets,  with 
low  wooden  houses,  generally  no  more  than  one  story  high.  After  the  usual  Turkish 
custom,  the  Turks,  Greeks,  Jews,  Armenians,  and  Franks  each  have  distinct  quar- 
ters. The  trade  is  in  importing  goods  and  products  from  Europe  that  the  country  does 
not  supply  for  itself,  while  in  exchange  there  is  a  thriving  export  business  in  wools,  cot- 
ton, silk,  carpets,  olive-oil,  drugs,  gums,  figs,  raisins,  and  many  other  articles  which  are 
considered  great  luxuries  in  England  and  America. 

Two  thousand  years  ago,  when  Egypt  ruled  the  world,  her  numerous  cities  were  the 
most  magnificent  ever  built.  Now,  of  them  all,  there  are  only  two  of  importance  left ; 
and  these  are  greatly  changed.  Cairo,  near  the  point  of  the  Delta,  is  the  capital  of  the 
present  State,  and  a  city  where  modern  improvements  are  strangely  combined  with  the 
medieval  and  oriental  character.  Its  low  wall,  inclosing  three  square  miles  of  oblong 
territory,  and  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people,  rises  out  of  a  sandy  plain 
between  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile  and  the  rocky  ridge  of  Mokattam.  From  these 
heights,  which  lie  on  the  south-east  side  of  the  town,  the  citadel  rises  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  The  citadel  is  in  itself  a  small  and  interesting  town,  gathered  about  the  hand- 
some palace  and  mosque  of  Mohammed  Ali.  The  courts  of  the  mosque,  paved  with 
white  marble  and  inclosed  by  columns,  the  round  arches  with  fancy  capitals,  and  the 
vaulted  domes,  are  all  overlooked  by  a  clock  tower  on  the  west,  and  surmounted  by  a 
large  principal  dome.  This  is  supported  by  four  great  piers,  and  embraced  by  four  half 
domes,  with  four  smaller  domes  above  the  angles.  Small  stained  glass  windows  with 
round  arches  are  just  below.  The  interior  is  very  rich  and  striking  with  painted  decora- 
tions, a  great  luster  in  the  center  and  numerous  small  lamps.  The  casing  of  Mohammed 
Ali's  tomb  and  the  surroundings  are  of  alabaster,  which  is  also  much  used  in  the  columns 
and  domes  of  other  parts  of  the  beautiful  building.  From  the  ramparts  of  the  citadel 
the  entire  city  with  the  surrounding  country  is  plainly  in  view  below.  "  The  vastness  of 
the  city,  as  it  lies  stretched  below,  surprises  every  one.  It  looks  a  perfect  wilderness  of 
flat  roofs,  cupolas,  minarets,  and  palm  tops,  with  an  open  space  here  and  there  present- 
ing the  complete  front  of  a  mosque,  and  gay  groups  of  dusky-skinned  people,  and 
moving  camels.  The  wonderful  aqueduct  runs  off  for  miles  across  the  plain, 
The  fawn-colored  domes  of  the  famous  tombs  of  the  caliphs  rise  against  the  somewhat 
darker  sand  of  the  desert.  The  gleaming  river  winds  away  from  the  dim  south  into  the 


STREET    IN    CAIRO. 


282  Cities  of  the   World. 

blue  distance  of  the  north  ;  the  green  strips  of  cultivation  on  its  banks  glow  amid  the 
yellow  sands.  Eight  miles  away  to  the  west  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh  seem  to  rise  in 
their  full  height,  while  the  eye  measures  the  full  distance  between.  The  platform  of  the 
Great  Pyramid  is  seen  to  be  a  considerable  hill  of  itself  ;  and  the  fields  and  causeways 
which  are  between  it  and  the  river  lie  as  in  a  map,  and  indicate  the  true  distance  and 
elevation  of  these  mighty  monuments.  The  Libyan  hills,  dreary  as  possible,  close  in  the 
view  behind  them,  as  the  Mokattam  range  does  above  and  behind  the  citadel." 

Between  the  old  fortified  city  and  the  river  there  lies  a  new  district  of  broad  streets  and 
regular  rows  of  houses  called  the  quarter  Ismaileeyah,  not  generally  included  as  a  part  of 
Cairo  proper.  The  city  itself  is  walled  off  into  quarters,  which  used  to  be  separated  by  gates, 
and  are  still  known  by  distinct  names.  "  The  majority  of  these  quarters  are  built  up  in 
dwelling  houses  and  are  known  by  a  name  taken  from  some  public  building,  from  some 
person  who  once  owned  the  property,  or  from  some  class  of  people  who  live  there. 
Through  the  crowded  districts  of  tortuous  lanes  and  narrow,  unpaved  streets  which 
once  made  up  the  entire  city,  fine  new  thoroughfares  have  been  laid  lately,  and 
some  of  the  dreary,  neglected  and  choked-up  lots  have  been  transformed  into  open 
squares  surrounded  by  handsome  houses  and  some  pretentious  shops.  From  the  foot  of 
of  the  Citadel  the  Boulevard  Mohammed  Ali,  the  finest  of  the  new  streets,  crosses  the 
city  in  an  almost  northerly  direction,  ending  in  the  Esbekeeyeh,  the  largest  and  best 
known  public  place  in  Cairo.  At  the  head  of  this  Boulevard  with  some  fine  open  squares 
leading  to  it  on  all  sides  is  the  finest  mosque  in  the  city.  There  are  four  hundred  of 
these  Oriental  temples  in  Cairo,  but  no  other  is  as  magnificent  as  this  of  Sultan  Hassan, 
almost  under  the  shadow  of  the  Citadel.  It  was  finished  in  the  year  1360  A.  D.,  and  as 
one  of  the  most  superb  monuments  to  Mohammedan  religion  has  made  the  reign  of 
Hassan  memorable  forever.  This,  like  the  mosque  on  the  Citadel,  was  built  of  blocks  of 
stone  brought  from  the  Pyramids  ;  but  has  quite  a  different  appearance,  for  that  is 
built  after  the  Constantinople  fashion,  and  this  in  the  Egyptian  style.  It  has  a 
lofty  and  beautifully  ornamented  porch,  towering  walls  bordered  with  rich  cor- 
nices and  surmounted  by  graceful  minarets,  and  broken  by  arches  leading  to  the 
spacious  court.  There  are  many  other  fine  mosques,  among  the  shops  and  palaces, 
the  houses  and  bazars  that  line  the  Boulevard  Mohammed  Ali,  while  into  it  open 
a  great  number  of  narrow,  small  streets.  Those  from  the  eastern  side  come  from 
the  medieval  part,  while  among  the  lane-like  thoroughfares  on  the  west  there  are 
some  of  the  new,  broad  streets  of  the  modern  districts.  By  one  of  them  the  Palace  of 
Abdeen  is  soon  reached,  where  the  Khedive  usually  lives  during  the  winter  ;  and  further 
west,  near  the  river  bank,  are  the  palace  and  gardens  of  Shoobra.  This  was  the  favorite 
residence  of  Mohammed  Ali,  and  is  now  the  terminus  of  one  of  the  most  fashionable 
afternoon  drives  out  of  Cairo.  There  are  other  smaller  palaces  along  the  river  both 
above  and  below  Shoobra,  extending  to  Boolak  on  the  north,  and  to  old  Cairo  on  the 


Cairo.  283 

south.  Around  the  Esbekeeyeh,  the  square  in  which  the  Boulevard  of  Mohammed  Ali 
ends,  are  most  of  the  principal  hotels,  the  Opera  House,  the  French  Theater,  the  palace 
occupied  by  the  Mixed  Tribunals  or  Egyptian  Parliament,  the  old  palace  of  Mohammed 
Ali,  several  other  palaces,  consulates  and  many  substantial  looking  buildings  of  stores 
and  houses,  some  of  which  are  built  in  arcades  occupied  by  handsome  shops  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  spacious  stories  above  let  for  offices  and  private  residences.  The 
Esbekeeyeh  is  very  large,  the  thoroughfares  surrounding  it  are  long  public  squares  and 
embellished  with  statuary  and  fountains.  The  roadways  are  broad,  well  kept,  and  well 
lighted  with  gas  ;  the  foot  pavements  are  wide  and  planted  with  trees.  The 
center  of  the  place  is  like  a  European  public  garden,  with  cafe's,  places  of  amusement, 
grottoes,  and  ornamental  water.  It  is  a  great  resort  where  a  band  plays  toward 
evening,  and  little  children  run  and  have  a  good  time  in  the  early  morning.  Above, 
on  the  east,  and  partly  below  the  Esbekeeyeh,  lie  the  old  quarters  of  the  city,  the  true 
Cairo  surrounding  a  bit  of  transplanted  Europe. 

The  quarters  are  no  longer  shut  off  from  each  other  by  gates,  but  they  are  still 
quite  distinct,  each  having  its  sheykh,  who  keeps  order  among  the  people,  and  who  must 
be  consulted  for  permission  to  live  in  his  quarter.  In  all  these  sections  the  streets  are 
very  narrow.  This  is  due  to  the  Cariean  mode  of  building  houses,  each  story  projecting 
beyond  that  below  it.  Two  persons  may  almost  shake  hands  across  the  street  from  the 
upper  windows  ;  in  fact,  in  the  Jews'  Quarter  many  of  the  houses  of  the  two  opposite 
sides  actually  touch  each  other  at  the  upper  stories.  Narrow  streets  are  very  common  to 
places  in  hot  climates  ;  for  it  makes  both  the  houses  and  the  streets  cooler.  Another 
reason,  often  the  cause  of  setting  buildings  close  together,  was  that  the  city  was  then  more 
safe  from  the  attack  of  enemies.  "  The  streets  of  Cairo  stand  alone  in  their  remarkable 
picturesqueness  and  Oriental  character.  Its  narrow  thoroughfares,  with  their  quaint 
projecting  balconies,  and  here  and  there  the  large  walls  of  a  mosque  whose  minaret  pierces 
the  blue  far  up  in  the  sky  ;  the  thronging,  turbaned  crowd  with  every  variety  of  strange 
costume  and  adornment ;  the  camels  with  their  silent  tread,  and  heads  lifted  up  as  if 
sniffing  the  desert  air  from  afar  ;  the  bazars  and  inner  courts  with  their  glowing  colors 
flung  from  Persian  rugs,  and  carpets,  lighted  up  by  strong  sunbeams,  piercing  the  shelter- 
ing awnings." 

The  most  of  the  poor  people's  houses  are  miserable  mud  hovels  with  filthy  courts, 
dilapidated  windows  and  tattered  awnings,  but  the  dwellings  of  the  rich  are  both  beauti- 
ful and  comfortable.  Usually  they  are  elaborately  built  in  arabesque  style,  the  basement 
story  of  the  soft  stone  from  the  neighboring  hills,  and  the  upper  story  of  painted  brick. 
The  stained  glass  windows  are  shaded  by  cornices  that  extend  out  from  the  wall  in  grace- 
ful ornaments.  A  winding  passage  leads  through  the  ornamental  doorway  into  the  court, 
in  the  center  of  which  is  a  fountain  shaded  with  palm  trees.  The  principal  apartment  is 
generally  paved  with  marble  ;  in  the  center  a  decorated  lantern  is  suspended  over  a  fount- 


284  Cities  of  the   World. 

ain,  while  round  the  sides  are  richly  inlaid  cabinets  and  windows  of  stained  glass  ;  and 
in  a  recess  is  the  divan,  a  low,  narrow  cushioned  seat  running  around  the  walls. 

Throughout  Cairo  in  all  quarters  there  is  a  liberal  supply  of  public  fountains,  which 
provide  water  to  all  free  of  cost.  Some  of  these  in  the  oldest  parts  are  curious  and  beau- 
tiful pieces  of  Oriental  art,  while  others  are  modern  affairs  after  the  style  in  Constantino- 
ple. Above  the  fountain  there  is  usually  a  room  where  the  free  day  school  is  held.  Another 
picturesque  sight  in  this  Oriental  city  is  at  the  baths.  The  places  themselves  are  not  as 
fine  nor  as  handsome  as  in  many  Eastern  cities  ;  but  they  are  always  intrusting  ;  they 
are  all  vapor-baths,  and  one  may  go  alone  or  in  a  party  to  submit  to  the  heat,  the  sham- 
pooing, the  rubbing  with  horse-hair  gloves  and  all  the  rest,  which  when  done  certainly  is 
a  success  in  the  way  of  cleanliness,  though  at  the  cost  of  considerable  discomfort.  The 
baths  are  usually  given  up  to  the  men  in  the  morning,  while  only  women  go  in  the  after- 
noon ;  but  some  places  have  special  days  in  the  week  devoted  to  women,  while  others  are 
carried  on  exclusively  for  men,  or  for  women  at  all  times.  The  interior  of  the  baths  are 
gay  and  picturesque  with  a  bright-colored  entrance  and  passages  prettily  inlaid  with 
colored  stones.  In  every  thing  Cairo  is  an  Oriental  city,  and  is  more  interesting  in  this 
respect  than  any  other  Eastern  town.  It  is  full  of  romance,  of  picturesque  Oriental 
wonders,  of  strange  sights,  strange  noises  and  strange  smells.  Every  little  narrow  lane, 
every  turn — and  the  turns  are  incessant — every  mosque,  and  every  shop  creates  fresh 
surprise.  Then  there  •  are  the  people, — not  the  white  skinned  European  and  American 
visitors,  but  the  Cairean  people  :  Muslims  in  gorgeous  turbans,  and  long  sashes,  and  a 
long  chibouque  bound  with  colored  silk  and  gold  threads,"  followed  by  their  slaves 
holding  their  gorgeous  garments  from  the  dirt  of  the  streets;  there  are  Copts,  Abyssin- 
ians,  Nubians  and  other  native  Africans  ;  there  are  Turks  in  baggy  trowsers  and 
fez  ;  and  Jews,  recognizable  in  any  costume.  Occasionally  there  is  a  lady,  in  a  vast 
silken  bag,  bulging  like  a  balloon  over  her  donkey  ;  or  in  the  twilight  a  long  string  of 
donkeys  ambling  by,  each  bearing  one  of  the  inflated  balloons.  This  is  a  harem — the 
women  of  some  household — "  taking  the  evening  air,  with  the  eunuch,  like  a  captain  riding 
before."  The  next  sight  might  be  Sakkas,  men  with  hog-skins  slung  over  their  backs, 
full  of  water,  which  they  sell  from  house  to  house  ;  or  peddlers  with  turbaned 
heads,  walking  about  in  their  long  robes,  crying  their  wares.  Now  you  see  a  gay 
bazar,  and,  walking  in,  inspect  its  stock  of  silks  and  embroidered  stuffs,  rich 
Persian  carpets,  or  fine  cloth.  One  of  the  finest  bazars  is  the  Khaleel,  which 
is  almost  six  hundred  years  old.  Here  there  is  nearly  every  thing  for  sale.  One 
part  is  given  up  to  carpet  dealers,  another  to  tradesmen  in  copper,  in  a  part 
called  "  within  the  chains "  are  silks  and  other  goods  from  Constantinople. 
Most  of  the  shops  in  this  and  other  bazars  are  kept  by  Turks,  and  are  built  open  in 
front,  very  much  resembling  a  cupboard.  Mondays  and  Thursdays  always  being  market 
days,  there  are  special  sales  in  the  bazars,  carried  on  by  appraisers  or  delldls,  who  "  wade 


Alexandria.  285 

through  the  crowd,  carrying  drawn  swords,  fly-flaps,  silk  dresses,  chain  armor,  amber 
mouth  pieces,  guns,"  and  a  multitude  of  other  kinds  of  articles,  which  they  auction  off, 
calling  the  price  they  are  bid  for  them  as  they  move  along.  Near  the  Khattel  is  the  Mar- 
ket of  the  Coppersmiths,  and  further  on  is  the  Bazar  of  the  Gold-and-Silversmiths  ;  in 
another,  crape,  silks,  cloths  and  other  goods  mostly  made  in  Europe  are  sold  ;  in  another 
attar  of  roses  and  other  perfumes  along  with  drugs  and  spices  ;  and  another  has  ostrich 
eggs,  Nubian  spears  ami  arrows  and  gum  arabic  ;  and  so  on,  even  more  numerous  than 
the  mosques,  there  are  bazars  large  and  small,  whose  showy  booths  offer  for  sale  an 
endless  variety  of  articles  of  every  conceivable  sort  of  use  and  ornament.  The  chief 
native  manufactures  of  Cairo  are  gold  and  silver  jewelry,  silk  and  cotton  stuffs,  embroidery 
and  native  saddles,  although  many  European  industries  have  lately  been  introduced  ;  but 
a  very  large  part  of  the  people  are  occupied  as  porters,  and  venders  of  eatables  ;  many 
also  are  glaziers,  boatmen  on  the  Nile,  donkey  and  camel  drivers,  water-carriers,  coffee- 
house keepers,  and  in  various  other  ways  make  their  living  in  doing  service  to  others. 
The  hemalee  supplies  passengers  with  water,  pouring  it  out  of  his  brass  spouted  skin  into 
a  brass  cup  by  which  he  measures  it  into  the  purchaser's  earthen  vessel,  which  has  a 
sprig  of  orange  stuck  in  its  mouth.  The  sharbetlee  sells  an  infusion  of  raisins  or  licor- 
ice, or  some  other  sweet  substance  ;  and  the  mttscllikattt  Qi  pipe-cleaner  goes  about  with 
a  bundle  of  long  wires  and  a  bag  of  tow  ready  to  clean  any  body's  shibook  or  long  pipe. 
A  favorite  occupation  at  Cairo  is  that  of  beggar.  Very  little  food  and  clothing  are 
necessary  in  this  climate,  and  starvation  is  a  thing  almost  unheard  of.  The  language  of 
the  Caireans  is  Arabic  ;  but  in  a  city  so  full  of  many  nationalities  all  tongues  are  heard, 
and  everywhere  European  languages  seem  to  be  spoken  and  pretty  well  understood  by 
the  citizens  of  the  Egyptian  capital.  Cairo  is  now,  as  it  was  of  old,  a  great  place  for  learn- 
ing. There  are  many  students  at  the  government  colleges  and  national  schools,  while 
several  thousand  pupils  attend  the  theological  university  attached  to  the  mosque  of  Ezher. 
The  most  important  people  of  Cairo  now,  the  ruling  class,  are  Turks,  although  there  are 
greater  numbers  of  Arabs,  the  former  conquerors,  than  any  other  race.  The  Copts  are 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  but  are  no  more  numerous  here  now  than  Jews, 
Armenians,  Syrians  or  Europeans. 

In  ancient  days  Alexandria  was  the  most  grand,  powerful  and  celebrated  city  of 
Egypt ;  the  times  have  changed,  and  with  them  the  fair  city  has  gone  through  many 
stages  of  decline  and  decay,  followed  by  reviving  importance,  till  now  it  is,  next  to  the 
French  city  of  Marseilles,  the  greatest  port  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  modern 
Alexandria  lies  rather  westward  of  where  the  old  Ptolemies'  capital  stood,  much  of  it 
where,  then,  there  was  no  land.  The  city  is  situated  chiefly  on  a  broad  neck  between  two 
harbors,  originally  a  mole  built  out  to  the  island  in  the  sea.  The  ruins  and  soil  that 
have  gathered  about  the  old  dike,  have  made  it  a  good  sized  peninsula  now.  The  harbor 
on  the  East  is  called  the  New  Port,  while  the  westerly  harbor  is  known  as  the  Old  Port. 


286  Cities  of  the   World. 

This  is  encircled  almost  half  way  round  by  the  end  of  the  island,  which  is  now  a  part  of 
the  neck  ;  from  this  the  port  is  further  inclosed  by  a  fine  large  breakwater.  The  city 
extends  considerable  distance  along  the  lower  banks  of  the  harbors,  and  in  scattered 
districts  nearly  to  Lake  Mareotis,  which  for  a  long  way  is  only  separated  from  the 
Mediterranean  by  a  strip  of  land  but  a  few  miles  in  width. 

Alexandria  is  not  a  handsome  nor  a  very  interesting  city  ;  it  lies  low,  amid  sandy, 
flat,  and  sterile  surroundings.  The  way  from  the  harbor  lies  through  the  narrow  and 
irregular  streets  of  the  Turkish  quarter,  in  which  the  houses  seem  to  have  been  thrown 
together  by  chance  ;  and  few  have  the  Oriental  appearance  which  is  so  interesting  at 
Cairo.  Here  and  there,  however,  you  see  a  lattice  work  window  or  a  Saracene  arch, 
which  make  the  street  look  picturesque.  In  the  road  through  the  bazars,  which  is  a 
long  one  and  can  only  be  made  on  foot,  there  are  many  novel  and  eastern  scenes.  Beyond 
this,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  town,  is  the  European  quarter,  the  furthest  from  the  Old 
Port,  because,  European  vessels  being  formerly  confined  to  the  eastern  harbor,  the  con- 
suls and  merchants  built  their  houses  and  carried  on  their  business  in  that  direction. 
This  section  of  the  city,  called  the  Frank  Quarter,  is  like  an  European  town  with  handsome 
streets  and  squares  built  up  with  solid,  stately  buildings  and  occupied  by  excellent  shops. 
Nearly  all  the  streets  have  been  paved  lately.  The  principal  hotels,  shops,  and  bankers' 
and  merchants'  offices  are  situated  in  the  Great  Square  forming  the  European  center  of 
the  city,  which  the  native  Alexandrians  call  the  Place  of  Mohammed  AH.  At  one  cor- 
ner is  the  English  church,  beside  the  handsome  French  Consulate  ;  the  open  body  of  the 
square  is  a  favorite  promenade,  planted  with  trees  and  provided  with  seats.  Here,  pass- 
ing and  repassing  the  fountains  and  the  statuary,  there  is  something  like  the  same  fan- 
tastic crowd  you  see  in  the  great  square  of  Cairo,  except  that  the  people  of  Alexandria 
are  more  mixed  if  any  thing.  About  one-fourth  of  its  two  hundred  thousand  are  Greeks, 
Italians,  and — in  fewer  numbers — other  Europeans.  The  avenues  around  the  great  square 
are  broad  and  attractive  thoroughfares  leading  to  all  parts  of  the  city.  The  houses  are 
built  in  large  blocks  called  Okelles,  but  the  public  buildings  are  all  plain  and  insignifi- 
cant, and  neither  mosques  nor  churches  have  any  particular  interest.  There  are  Cleo- 
patra's needle,  however,  and  some  other  remains  of  ancient  Alexandrian  glories  that  every 
visitor  goes  to  see.  Pompey's  Pillar  and  some  of  the  old  tombs  and  churchyards  are 
also  full  of  historical  interest  ;  but  modern  Alexandria  has  a  long  way  to  go  yet  before 
it  can  draw  to  itself  any  thing  to  compare  with  the  interest  felt  for  its  magnificent  pre- 
decessor. 

The  principal  means  of  traveling  around  the  city  is  in  carriages  or  on  donkeys,  both 
of  which  abound  everywhere.  The  commerce  of  the  city  is  in  exportation  of  cotton,  beans, 
corn,  and  sugar,  gums,  coffee,  ivory,  wool,  linseed  and  mother  of  pearl  to  England  and 
France  ;  and  in  importation  of  manufactured  goods  and  coal  from  England,  wood,  oils, 
wines,  and  liquors,  from  the  lower  European  countries  ;  raw  silk,  provisions  and  marbles, 


Alexandria. 


287 


and  stones.  The  native  industries  are  principally  embroidering  in  gold  and  silk,  cotton 
weaving,  making  pipe-stems,  tobacco,  arms  and  some  other  old  established  crafts  ;  while 
the  Europeans  have  introduced  many  factories  for  supplying  home  needs,  like  starch, 
soap,  gas,  candles  and  such  things.  The  Eastern  or  New  Port  has  only  been  used  by 
small  native  vessels  for  a  long  time,  being  too  much  exposed  to  the  north  winds  and  un- 
safe from  the  rocks  and  shoals.  The  only  noteworthy  canal  nowadays,  is  the  Mahmoo- 


PLACE    OF   MOHAMMED    ALI,  ALEXANDRIA. 

dceyeh,  which  begins  at  the  village  of  Atfeh,  on  a  branch  of  the  Nile,  and  extends  fifty 
miles  eastward  with  an  average  width  of  about  a  hundred  feet.  For  some  distance  the 
right  bank  is  bordered  with  the  houses  and  gardens  of  wealthy  Alexandrians  and  is  the 
fashionable  afternoon  promenade.  The  terminus  of  the  canal  is  at  the  Old  Port,  near 
the  western  outskirts  of  the  city,  where  there  are  storehouses  and  quays  and  busy  scenes 
of  commercial  life. 


INDIA. 


THE  largest  city  of  Hindostan  is  Bombay.  It  covers  part  of  the  lower  end  of  the 
island  of  Bombay,  which  lies  not  far  from  shore,  at  about  the  central  point  of  the 
western  coast  line  of  the  great  peninsula.  The  view  of  the  city  from  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor  is  a  beautiful  one.  Forests  of  motionless  palm-trees  cover  the  lower  hills, 
along  the  margin-  of  the  shore. 
The  bays  and  river-like  reaches 
of  the  sea  are  thick  with  islands 
whose  masses  of  tropical  green 
stand  out  clearly  from  the  back- 
ground of  singular  hills,  which  in 
terraces,  mounds  or  sharp  pinna- 
cles lift  themselves  up  to  the 
cloudless  sky  above  and  from  the 
gleaming  blue  sea  sometimes  over- 
hung by  a  soft  bright  haze.  In  the 
harbor  are  ships  from  every  clime, 
of  every  size,  lying  at  anchor, 
crowding  the  wharves,  and  num- 
berless boats  with  their  large  mat- 
ting sails  and  covered  poop,  and 
regular  splashing  oars  gliding  on 
countless  errands  here  and  there 
among  the  larger  craft.  The  island 
of  Bombay  has  an  area  of  about 
twenty-two  square  miles,  consist- 
ing of  a  plain  about  eleven  miles 
long  and  three  miles  broad  sur- 
rounded by  two  parallel  lines  of 
low  hills.  At  the  south-west  of 

.,         •   ,        ,  •  j  c  .,  BEDOUIN    AND    FELLAH. 

the  island  an  inward  sweep  of  the 

sea  forms  a  large  shallow  basin  called  the  Back  Bay  ;  but  the  frontage  of  the  city  is  to- 
ward the  east,  overlooking  the  capacious  harbor.  This  is  not  connected  with  the  Bay, 
which  is  separated  from  the  sea  by  small  islands,  connected  with  the  larger  one  by  cause- 


Bombay. 


289 


ways.  The  most  southerly  of  these  is  Calaba,  and  next  above  that  is  Old  Woman's  Isle  ; 
both  are  a  sort  of  suburb  of  the  larger  island  of  Bombay.  Above  the  Old  Woman  is  the 
Fort,  and  beyond  that  a  great  railway  terminus,  and  immense  barracks  extending  to  the 
European  town,  while  about  a  mile  still  further  north  is  the  much  larger  native  city, 
known  as  Black  town. 

Beyond  the  net-work  of  masts  and  rigging  that  almost  hides  the  docks,  there  are 
steeples  and  white  houses  showing  among  the  trees  the  first  glimpses  of  the  famous 
city  of  Bombay,  "  with  its  worshipers  of  fire  and  fine  gold." 

The  first  sight  on  landing  at  the  celebrated  port  of  Western  India  is  a  multitude  of 
busy,  half  dressed  black  men.  They  are  Coolies,  or  the  laborers  and  porters  of  the  city, 
a  numerous  class,  whose  rights  and  wrongs  have  been  matters  of  serious  discussion 
among  great  men.  The  town  is  well  built,  with  spacious  streets  and'substantial  houses, 
but  with  very  little  grandeur.  There  are  no  imposing  temples  or  mosques,  no  mighty 
public  buildings,overlooking  grand 

avenues  or  handsome  squares  ;  nor  ^^^te^te 

is  there  any  thing  particularly  ori- 
ental looking  about  the  place,  not 
even  the  camels,  the  radiant  colors 
and  fantastic  crowds  of  Cairo. 
Notwithstanding  it  is  so  much 
further  East  it  seems  far  less  orien- 
tal than  the  Levantine  towns.  It 
is  simply  a  broad  level  commercial 
city — in  India,  but  of  England — it 
is  an  Indian  Liverpool.  Neat 
broughams  and  carriages  of  Euro- 
pean build  roll  through  its  streets, 
carrying  natives  or  aliens  in  much  the  same  style  ;  but  among  these  there  are  also  numbers 
of  the  "  wooden  cabs — dak-gharies — with  their  Venetian  blinds,  buggies,  buffalo  carts  and 
wagons,  and  sometimes  quaint  native  conveyances.  The  crowds  that  walk  along  are 
chiefly  made  up  of  naked  coolies,  with  legs  like  those  of  a  crane  ;  and  of  white-robed,  soft- 
faced,  large-eyed  Parsees  with  white  stockings  and  polished  shoes  ;  of  Hindoos,  broad  fea- 
tured or  fine  featured,  dark  complexioned  or  olive  complexipned,  all  in  turbans,  and  many 
holding  white  umbrellas  as  they  waddle  along,  some,  even  of  the  better  sort,  with  bare 
feet.  There  are  no  armed  natives  to  be  seen,  but  everywhere  the  commerce  of  an  Euro- 
peanized  city  where  every  one  is  up  to  the  ears  in  cotton."  Cotton  cloth  and  yarn  are  the 
greatest  manufactures  of  the  city,  while  dyeing,  tanning  and  working  in  metals  are  also  ac- 
tive trades.  Many  people  are  employed  in  cultivating  cocoanut  trees  and  in  preparing 
intoxicating  drinks  .from  the  juice  of  different  species  of  the  palm. 


DAK-GHARI  TRAVELING. 


290 


Cities  of  the   World. 


Many  of  the  fine  dwellings  look  like  huge  Swiss  cottages  nestling  among  trees. 
These  are  one  story  buildings  called  bungalows  j  they  are  surrounded  by  a  magnificent 
veranda,  built  on  a  platform  raised  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  ground,  and  with  a 
sort  of  corridor,  having  many  doorways  leading  into  beautiful  rooms  furnished 

after  European  fashion 

j    with  some  Oriental  ad- 
|    ditions.    On  every  side 
the   veranda    and   the 
rooms  beyond  are  open 
to  catch  all  the  breeze 
possible.      The  bunga- 
low usually   stands  in 
the  midst  of  a  garden 
full  of  flowers  and  roses, 
large     leaved     plants, 
Eastern     exotics,     the 
home  of  big  butterflies, 
huge  moths,  and  many 
sweetly    piping    birds. 
Every  thing  is  arranged 
with  the  greatest  com- 
fort, elegance  and  lux- 
ury.   There  are  always 
great  numbers  of  serv- 
ants   connected    with 
such    a    house — about 
forty  in  doors  and  out 
— all     men,    or    boys, 
wearing    turbans    and 
white  cotton  garments, 
and  going  about  bare- 
footed.         Enormous 
sums  are  paid  for  the 
rent   of   such   houses; 
but  then  the    expense 
TEMPLE  AND  SACRED  ELEPHANT.  of    living   in    Bombay 

is  great  in  every  way,  beyond  that  of  any  other  town,  in  India,  or  perhaps  in  Europe. 

The  private  houses  of  the  European  residents  lie  apart  both  from  the  native  and  from 
the  mercantile  quarters  of  the  town.    The  favorite  of  these  suburbs  is  along  the  lower  end 


PALACE    OF    THE    SETHS. 


292  Cities  of  the   World. 

of  the  western  shore  of  the  island  from  Breach  Candy  to  Malabar  Point.  The  hand- 
somest houses  are  on  the  high  ridge  called  Malabar  Hill,  which,  terraced  to  the  top  with 
noble  villas,  fornjs  the  western  inclosure  of  Back  Bay,  and  commands  one  of  the  finest 
views  in  the  world.  The  end  of  this  hill  is  called  the  Malabar  Point.  Here  stands  the 
Government  House  close  to  the  edge  of  the  steep  cliff  overlooking  the  water.  One  of 
the  most  beautiful  drives  on  the  island  is  along  the  sea  here,  as  far  northward  as  Breach 
Candy.  A  short  distance  from  the  Government  House  throngs  of  Hindoos  are  fre- 
quently seen  coming  from  the  temple  of  Vdlukeshuar,  or  Sand  Lord,  which  is  quite  a 
celebrated  place,  with  its  water  tank  and  a  noble  flight  of  steps  leading  to  it.  The 
tank  is  shaded  by  fine  trees  and  encircled  by  snow-white  pagodas  and  neat  houses  of 
brahmans.  The  Hindoo  temples  usually  have  several  small  chapels  or  deep  niches  in 
the  platform  at  one  end  where  the  strange  looking  images  are  kept.  Three  or  four 
wretched  looking  yogies  or  ascetics  usually  sit  on  the  ground,  their  bodies  covered  with 
ashes,  their  hair  matted,  and  their  blank  faces  looking  too  ignorant  or  too  weak  to  be 
earnest  or  enthusiastic  about  any  thing.  Offerings  to  the  holy  men  and  to  the  gods  are 
placed  before  \\-\eyogies,  such  as  little  bouquets  of  flowers  with  vessels  of  holy  water, 
fruit  and  rice.  These  yogies  live  on  charity.  The  milk  of  the  sacred  cows,  which  are 
kept  at  the  temples,  is  theirs.  They  are  looked  upon  as  holy  men,  but  are,  as  a  rule, 
beggars,  liars,  and  in  many  ways  a  most  unworthy  set  of  human  beings,  who  behave 
unlike  men  with  divine  natures.  Another,  and  different  sort  of  temple,  of  which  there 
are  many  in  Bombay,  is  devoted  to  fire  worship,  the  Parsee  religion.  Unbelievers  are 
not  permitted  to  visit  the  most  sacred  of  them.  One  that  is  near  Malabar  Point  is  a 
little  square  house  with  a  pent  roof  and  small  iron-grated  windows  and  a  door  strongly 
padlocked.  Within  a  fire  is  kept  burning  with  the  sweetest  kind  of  woods.  It  is  never 
allowed  to  die  out,  and  to  throw  any  thing  impure  upon  it  is  a  crime. 

The  Parsee  cemetery  is  on  the  Hill,  inclosing  within  its  walls  the  Towers  of  Silence, 
which  are  about  as  high  as  a  four-story  house.  "  When  a  fire-worshiper  dies,  his  body 
is  placed  in  the  tower  upon  an  iron  grating  that  gradually  slopes  downward  toward  a 
•sort  of  pit  in  the  bottom.  Vultures  are  generally  to  be  seen  perched  on  the  top  of  the 
towers  ;  it  is  generally  believed  that  they  live  upon  the  flesh  of  the  dead,  although  this 
has  been  denied.  Parsees  will  not  tell,  and  strangers  are  not  allowed  in  the  towers 
when  any  bodies  are  exposed,  so  the  matter  remains  an  open  question." 

The  small  eastern  peninsula  of  Bombay  which  lies  between  Back  Bay  and  the  har- 
bor is  mainly  occupied  by  the  fort,  but  the  city  is  well  built  up  all  the  way  around  the 
bay,  and  has  some  fine  streets,  and  a  long,  broad  esplanade  leading  from  Malabar  to  the 
fort,  or  lying  between  the  latter  and  the  closely  built-up  city  above.  The  old  castle 
stands  in  about  the  center  of  the  fortifications  overlooking  the  harbor,  while  on  the  land 
side  a  long  semi-circular  line  of  ramparts  and  moats  extends  from  about  a  half-mile 
above  to  a  half-mile  below  the  central  point.  The  castle,  which  is  the  oldest  part  of  the 


Bombay. 


293 


fort,  was  built,  or  partly  built,  by  the  Portuguese,  who  held  the  island  in  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Adjoining  the  castle  to  the  south  is  the  Hornby  battery,  with  its  score  of  guns;  next 
to  this  is  the  Custom  House  with  other  batteries  beyond. 

The  Town  Hall,  which  is  the  best,  and  about  the  only  really  fine  building  in  Bom- 
bay, stands  in  front  of  the  castle,  its  colonnade  overlooking  the  fifteen-acre  park  of  the 
fort  familiarly  known  as  the  Green,  and  it  is  partially  shaded  by  tamarind  trees,  embel- 


PARSEE    CHILDREN. 

lished  with  statuary  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  large  public  buildings,  including 
the  Grecian-looking  mint  and  the  cathedral. 

If  the  European  quarter  seems  an  ordinary  commonplace  looking  town,  it  is  clean 
and  respectable,  which  can  not  be  said  of  Black  town.  "  No  Irish  village  of  the  worst 
kind  has  a  look  of  greater  poverty,  confusion  and  utter  discomfort.  The  low  huts  are 
covered  with  palm  leaves,  the  drains  are  open,  the  naked  children  have  naked  fathers 
and  miserable  looking  mothers,  and  no  one  seems  to  attempt  to  make  the  homes  look 
decent."  The  houses  of  the  wealthy  are  little  better  managed,  but  stand  out  of  sight  in 
the  midst  of  a  cool  garden. 


294 


Cities  of  the   World. 


The  climate  is  so  warm  that  their  home  life  is  almost  all  out  of  doors  ;  the  children 
are  round,  plump  and  shiny  ;  no  one  needs  much  clothing,  and  a  little  rice  is  all  the 
food  necessary. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  places  in  the  city  are  the  great  bazars.  The  build- 
ings are  three  or  four  stories  high,  with  elaborately  carved  pillars  and  ornamental 
work  on  the  fronts,  lining  both  sides  of  the  narrow  streets.  They  are  crowded  with 
people  and  over-loaded  with  goods  of  every  description.  The  chintz  bazar,  the 
most  curious  of  any,  skirts  that  part  of  the  bay,  where  the  native  shipping  gath- 
ers. Here  the  "  merchandise  and  produce  of  all  nations  seem  garnered  in  one 
common  store.  Piles  of  rich  gums  and  aromatic  spices,  carboys  of  oil 


AT  SCHOOL. 

and  rosewater,  pure  ivory  from  Ceylon,  rhinoceros  hides  from  Zanzibar,  the  richest 
produce  of  Africa,  India,  Persia  and  Arabia,  is  here  cast  in  large  heaps,  mingling  with 
Coir  cables,  huge  blocks,  and  ponderous  anchors,"  for  they  are  soon  to  be  exported  to 
craftsmen  who  will  make  the  rich  materials  doubly  valuable  by  their  skillful  handling. 
"  On  the  highway  porters  bending  beneath  square  balls  of  tightly  compressed  cotton, 
stagger  to  and  fro  ;  Arabs  with  ponderous  turbans  of  finely  checked  cloth  and  Aabas 
loosely  flowing  lounge  lazily  along  ;  Persians  in  silken  vests  with  black  lambskin  caps, 
the  softest  produce  of  Bokhara,  tower  above  the  dense  crowd  of  human  beings,  jostling 


Bombay. 


295 


against  each  other  in  one  great  dusty,  noisy  throng.  Banians,  dirty  and  bustling,  wear- 
ing red  turbans,  bristling  with  memoranda  ;  Bangies  with  suspended  bales,  or  well-filled 
water  vessels  ;  Fakirs  from  every  part  of  India  ;  Jains  in  the  snowy  vests,  and  with  staff 
and  brush  ;  Padres  with  round  black  hat  and  sable  coats  ;  Jews,"  and  countless  others 
make  up  the  ever  changing,  moving  mass,  through  which  a  bullock  carriage  will  now  and 
then  force  its  way,  or  a  Parsee  will  dash  in  his  gayly  painted  buggy.  The  Arab  stables 


TOMB    AT    AHAR. 

which  occupy  a  considerable  space  in  the  great  bazdr,  are  a  great  attraction  to  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Presidency,  for  all  military  men  in  India  consider  it  necessary  to  own 
at  least  a  couple  of  horses. 

Most  of  the  eight  hundred  thousand  people  in  Bombay  are  Hindoos  and  Mohamme- 
dans, while  about  ten  thousand  are  Europeans,  and  three  times  that  many  are  Parsees, 
or  descendants  of  Persian  fire-worshipers.  These  are  among  the  richest  and  the  best 
people  of  the  Presidency.  The  capital  of  British  India  is  Calcutta.  It  is  a  city  of 
about  a  thousand  less  people  than  Bombay,  and  lies  on  the  Hoogly  River,  about  a 


296  Cities  of  the    World. 

hundred  miles  from  where  it  empties  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  This  substantial,  stately 
city  is  very  unlike  Bombay.  It  is  "  in  every  respect  worthy  of  being  the  capital  of  the 
xealm,  incomparable  to  any  other  Eastern  city."  It  lies  on  the  left,  crupper,  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  broad  river,  skirted  by  a  canal  on  the  land  side,  threaded  by  broad  hand- 
some streets,  running  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  with  an  intricate  net-work  of  narrow 
lanes  between.  Along  the  river  runs  the  Strand,  much  as  in  the  greatest  English  capital. 
None  of  the  streets  are  paved,  but  the  water  carriers  keep  the  dust  down  from  their 
great  skin  vessels  and  the  splendid  blocks  of  mansions  are  finer  than  those  of  any  other 
Hindoo  city.  "  The  breadth  of  the  great  thoroughfares,  the  size  and  the  imposing  style 
of  the  residences  which  line  them,  the  spacious  arrangements  for  air  and  gardens  for 
shade  which  the  climate  makes  necessary,  all  tend  to  spread  the  European  portion  of 
Calcutta  over  a  greater  extent  of  ground  than  any  other  capital ;  and  give,  it  must  be 
added,  a  certain  sadness  and  dullness  to  the  place  in  spite  of  the  brilliant  sunlight." 
The  heat  is  so  intense  that  the  interiors  of  all  houses  have  to  be  darkened  by  somber 
green  blinds  on  the  windows.  Some  of  the  houses  have  rather  a  dilapidated  look,  from 
the  blotches  and  stains  that  the  weather,  with  its  mortsoon  rains  and  scorching  summer 
heat,  makes  on  the  plaster  with  which  the  walls  are  built. 

The  glory  of  Calcutta  is  the  Maidan  or  Park.  It  is  a  large  parallelogram,  with  the 
Government  House,  stately  and  imposing,  standing  at  one  end,  with  the  Town  Hall, 
Treasury,  and  High  Court  near  by.  Opposite  is  Fort  William,  occupying  the  center  of 
the  plain,  which  lies  for  a  mile  and  a  half  along  the  river's  edge  at  the  southern  end  of 
town.  Along  the  one  side  is  the  noble  street  of  Chowsinghee  with  its  princely  dwellings  ; 
while  parallel  with  and  opposite  to  it  flows  the  great  river.  No  other  city  has  a  fine 
stream  so  near  to  the  Park,  the  fashionable  drive  and  the  beautiful  homes.  And, 
moreover,  this  river  is  the  Hoogly  branch  of  the  old  Ganges,  whose  waters  are  sacred  to 
the  Hindoo  nation.  In  the  evening  every  body  seems  to  enjoy  this  luxury.  Carriage  after 
carriage  rolls  along  with  native  drivers  and  footmen,  without  shoes  or  stockings.  The 
Viceroy's  carriage  is  often  among  the  rest,  with  its  outriders  and  splendid  looking  mounted 
body-guard  dressed  in  high  boots  and  scarlet  uniform,  and  bearing  lance  and  pennon.  Na- 
tive gentlemen — but  never  ladies — of  every  title,  rank,  from  the  prince,  or  the  rich  merchant, 
down  to  the  most  ordinary  and  commonplace  Oriental,  pass  in  equipages  and  dress  cor- 
responding to  their  respective  rank  and  wealth.  Only,  no  one  goes  on  foot,  for  such 
exercise,  if  taken  at  all,  is  at  early  morning.  Flowing  beside  all  this  busy  stream  of 
human  life  is  the  grand  old  river,  with  the  finest  ships  of  the  commercial  navies  of  all 
nations  riding  on  its  broad  tide.  Here  there  are  no  ugly  wharfs  or  storehouses  ;  they  are 
further  along.  The  banks  and  the  waters  of  the  river  are  both  fair  and  pure.  But  along 
the  shore  near  the  busiest  haunts  of  the  commercial  city  dying  creatures,  half  immersed 
in  the  sacred  waters,  may  be  seen  at  any  hour  ;  and  there,  too,  are  dead  bodies  in  the 
process  of  burning. 


Calcutta. 


297 


The  Indian  side  of  Calcutta  is  quite  as  characteristic  of  its  Eastern  inhabitants  as 
the  other  is  of  its  Western.  Miserable-looking  huts  are  huddled  together  in  the  midst 
of  which  cows,  buffaloes,  goats,  naked  children,  and  lank-looking  grown  folks  rove  about, 
every  one  as  it  wishes.  There  are  about  sixty  thousand  such  huts  in  the  city,  for  this  is 
the  most  densely  peopled  part  of  the  capital.  Out  of  the  sixteen  square  miles  covered 
by  Calcutta,  six  are  occupied  by  the  native  town,  and  contain  more  than  half  the  popu- 
lation. The  streets  are  generally  narrow,  and  the  dusty  brick  houses  which  line  them 
have  not  a  single  picturesque  feature,  even  the  bazars  are  uninteresting,  except  for  the 


MOSQUE    AT    BENARES. 

crowds,  whose  turbans  of  various  shapes,  sizes  and  colors,  look  like  a  bed  01  moving 
tulips.  In  some  of  the  streets  there  is  a  small  stream  of  water  in  an  open  channel  raised 
two  or  three  feet  above  the  roadway.  This  rivulet  of  Ganges  water  has  great  value  in 
the  eyes  of  the  natives,  who  sit  by  it  at  their  work,  or  have  their  shops  open  upon  it. 

The  hour  of  dinner  in  India  is  generally  eight  o'clock,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  after 
the  labors  of  the  day  are  over  ;  and  these  are  very  substantial  affairs  with  European 
residents.  It  is  the  custom  also,  to  rise  early,  so  as  to  enjoy  the  cool  of  the  morning. 

The  houses  of  the  native  aristocracy  in  Calcutta  are  always  large,  but  seem  to  be  in 
a  state  of  confusion,  neglected  and  dirty.  The  rooms  or  cells,  off  its  verandas,  are  fur- 


298  Cities  of  the    World. 

nished  in  the  native  style,  which  to  us  would  look  decidedly  unfurnished  ;  but  one  room 
kept  for  show,  or  for  entertaining  Europeans,  is  filled  with  comforts  and  luxuries  familiar 
to  us.  An  English  traveler,  describing  the  most  aristocratic  house  he  saw  in  India, 
says  :  "  It  was  a  large,  square-looking  palace,  surrounded  by  a  considerable  space  of 
ground,  high  railings  separating  it  from  the  streets  of  the  native  town.  A  huge  bull 
was  feeding  in  the  large  '  compound,'  or,  as  we  would  say,  on  the  grounds.  There  was 
a  guard  of  native  infantry  at  the  main  entrance  to  the  house,  the  owner  being  of  high 
rank.  Around  the  compound  was  a  very  large  and  interesting  collection  of  beasts  and 
birds,  many  of  them  rare,  and  arranged  as  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  ;  among  the  ani- 
mals was  a  huge  and  venerable  tortoise,  which  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  family 
for  about  seventy  years,  having  been  more  than  that  age  when  purchased  by  them.  The 
house  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  square,  with  an  inner  court.  The  drawing-room  and  all 
the  apartments  for  guests  were  splendidly  furnished  in  the  best  European  style,  but  none 
of  these  are  occupied  by  the  family."  The  private  life  of  all  natives  is  in  very 
simple  apartments  with  more  or  less  disorder  and  neglect  ;  but  these  the  visitor  does 
not  see,  and  would  never  imagine  from  the  polished  manners  and  extravagant  luxury 
of  their  reception-rooms. 

Representatives  of  all  the  leading  races  and  forms  of  religious  belief  in  the  world 
are  to  be  found  here.  Calcutta  has  over  a  hundred  and  seventy  heathen  temples.  Many 
are  insignificant,  many  others  important.  Altogether,  the  English  capital  of  India  has  so 
many  fine  buildings,  that,  like  St.  Petersburg,  it  is  sometimes  called  the  City  of  Palaces. 
It  is  the  greatest  commercial  center  in  Asia  ;  it  sends  out  large  quantities  of  jute,  cotton, 
rice,  sugar,  indigo,  coffee,  tea,  saltpeter,  linseed,  shellac,  buffalo  horns,  hides,  and  other 
things  ;  its  industries  are  many,  but  the  principal  ones  are  sugar  works,  mills  for  cotton, 
flour,  and  oil,  and  extensive  shipbuilding. 

One  of  the  best  built  cities  of  India  is  Madras,  an  important  southern  seaport  in 
the  Bay  of  Bengal.  The  Hindoo  temples  and  palaces  are  few  ;  the  buildings  have  an 
European  look.  Among  the  finest  of  these  are  three  cathedrals,  several  colleges,  a 
museum,  and  an  astronomical  observatory.  As  in  Calcutta,  the  streets  of  the  native 
town  are  narrow  and  squalid,  while  those  of  the  European  part  are  wide  and  hand- 
some. 

With  its  nine  suburbs  Madras  lies  along  the  coast  for  nine  miles,  and  extending 
inland  about  three  and  a  half  miles  wide.  The  fort  is  in  about  the  center  of  the  shore 
line,  with  the  public  buildings.  The  low  lying  native  district  on  the  north  is  Black 
town,  defended  from  the  sea  by  a  strong  stone  bulwark.  The  city  carries  on  a  large 
trade,  although  it  has  no  harbor.  Ships  anchor  two  miles  from  shore,  while  their  cargoes 
and  passengers  are  landed  through  the  surf  in  light  flat-bottomed  boats  ;  but  sometimes 
the  surf  is  too  high  for  these,  and  then  the  fishermen  go  out  on  log  rafts,  or  perhaps  do 
not  attempt  to  breast  the  waves. 


Madras. 


299 


Coffee  is  the  largest  export  from  Madras,  while  it  has  also  a  large  trade  in  rice,  cot- 
ton, hides,  and  skins.  The  population  of  the  city  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand,  the  same  as  the  great  German  seaport  of  Hamburg. 


HINDOO  IDOLS. 


CHINA. 

ABOUT  one-twelfth  of  all  the  land  on  the  globe,  and  about  one-third  of  all  the 
people  in  the  world  belong  to  the  Empire  of  China.  For  more  than  four  hundred 
and  fifty  years  the  capital  of  this  vast  nation  has  been  Pekin,  which  next  to  London 
and  Paris  is  the  largest  city  in  the  world.  It  stands  at  the  base  of  a  hill  on  the  river 
Tunghin,  about  a  hundred  miles  from  the  China  Sea.  Long  before  the  Christian  era  it 
was  the  capital  of  the  Yen  kingdom,  and  was  the  imperial  seat  of  many  of  the  later 
dynasties.  Its  ancient  wall,  of  earth  with  brick  put  on  the  outside,  is  about  twenty 
miles  long,  and  incloses  nearly  twenty-six  square  miles,  and  between  one  and  two 
million  people.  The  wall  varies  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  high,  and  from  fifteen  to  sixty 
feet  thick.  Every  fifty  feet  there  is  an  opening  for  cannon  or  muskets,  and  in  many 
places  there  is  an  incline  on  the  inner  side,  so  that  horsemen  can  go,  without  slipping, 
from  one  level  to  a  higher  one,  till  they  reach  the  top  of  the  wall,  which  is  paved  like  a 
roadway.  There  are  square  towers  or  buttresses  built  out  from  this  parapeted  wall^ 
only  about  fifty  yards  apart  all  the  way  around.  Outside  of  each  of  the  thirteen  gates 
leading  from  the  city  to  the  open  country,  there  is  a  small  suburb,  which,  altogether, 
forms  quite  an  important  part  of  Pekin.  The  gates  are  very  interesting  and  curious, 
each  with  its  watch-tower  nine  stories  high,  perforated  with  many  cannon  holes.  The 
moat  around  the  city  is  fed  from  the  Tunghurei  River,  which  also  supplies  all  the  other 
canals  leading  across  or  through  the  city.  Pekin  is  in  two  parts,  that  are  in  reality  two 
separate  cities  ;  the  Northern  or  Tartar  city  is  longer  than  it  is  broad,  and  the  Southern 
or  Chinese  city,  adjoining  it  on  the  south,  is  broader  than  it  is  long,  so  the  general  shape 
of  Pekin  is  like  the  letter  T  upside  down.  The  Northern,  also  called  the  Tartar  and 
the  Manchu  City,  is  a  trifle  the  larger,  containing  fifteen  square  miles,  and  most  of  the 
important  places  of  the  capital,  and  its  walls,  which  on  the  south  inclose  it  from  the 
southern  city,  are  twice  as  thick  and  much  higher  than  those  of  the  other  division.  The 
northern  city  has  three  parts,  one  within  another.  The  smallest,  occupying  a  square  in 
the  center,  is  inclosed  by  a  wall  covered  with  bright  yellow  tiles,  guarded  by  numerous 
stations  of  bannermen  and  soldiers,  and  surrounded  by  a  deep  wide  moat  ;  it  is  divided 
into  three  sections  by  two  walls  running  from  south  to  north.  In  the  center  division  are 
the  buildings  especially  devoted  to  the  Emperor,  and  whenever  he  passes  through  it  a 
bell  placed  in  the  tower  above  is  struck  ;  when  the  troops  return  in  triumph,  a  drum  is 
beaten,  and  the  prisoners  are  presented  to  him,  and  other  state  ceremonies  take  place. 


3Q2  Cities  of  the   World. 

Beyond  the  southern  gate  leading  to  this  division  there  is  a  large,  handsome  court,  and 
beyond  that  another,  paved  with  marble,  and  ending  on  the  sides  by  gates,  porticos,  and 
pillared  corridors.  At  the  head  of  this  is  a  superb  marble  structure,  over  a  hundred 
feet  high,  and  standing  on  a  great  marble  terrace.  Five  flights  of  stairs,  decorated  with 
balustrades  and  sculptures,  lead  up  to  this  Hall  of  Highest  Peace,  and  five  doors  open 
through  into  the  next  court-yard.  Upon  the  great  throne  in  the  midst  of  this  spacious 
pillared  hall,  the  Emperor  holds  his  levees  on  New  Year's  Day,  his  birthday,  and  othei 
state  occasions  ;  about  fifty  courtiers  stand  near  him,  while  those  of  noble  and  lower 
dignity  and  rank  stand  in  the  court  below  in  regular  grades.  Beyond  this  are  the  Hall 
of  Central  Peace,  and  the  Palace  of  Heavenly  Purity,  that  is,  the  Emperor's  dwelling. 
The  last  is  the  most  important,  and  the  loftiest  and  most  magnificent  of  all  the  palaces. 
In  the  court  before  it  is  a  small  tower  of  gilt  copper,  adorned  with  a  great  number  ol 
figures,  and  on  each  side  are  large  incense  vases,  for  religious  use.  Beyond  it  stands 
the  Palace  of  Earth's  Repose,  where  the  wife  of  the  Emperor,  "Heaven's  Consort," 
rules  her  miniature  court  in  the  imperial  harem.  There  are  numerous  smaller  buildings 
in  this  part  of  the  Forbidden  City,  and  adjoining  the  northern  wall  is  the  imperial 
Flower  Garden,  adorned  with  elegant  pavilions,  temples,  and  groves,  and  interspersed 
with  canals,  fountains,  pools,  and  flower-beds.  In  the  eastern  division  of  the  Prohibited 
city  are  the  offices  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  Treasury  of  the  palace.  North  of  it  lies  the 
Hall  of  Intense  Thought,  where  sacrifices  are  offered  to  Confucius  and  other  sages 
Near  by  is  the  Library  or  Hall  of  the  Literary  Abyss,  and  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
division  are  numerous  palaces  and  buildings  occupied  by  princes  of  the  blood.  Th< 
western  division  contains  a  great  variety  of  edifices,  among  which  are  the  Hall  of  Distin 
guished  Sovereigns,  the  Guardian  Temple  of  the  City,  the  Court  of  Controller,  for  states 
men  and  literati,  and  the  Printing  Office.  The  Court  paper,  generally  called  the  Pekit 
Gazette,  has  lately  somewhat  altered  its  form,  and  changed  its  name  to  King  Pao,  whicl 
means  Metropolitan  Reporter.  This  is  the  oldest  newspaper  in  the  world  ;  it  was  estab 
lished  in  the  year  911,  and  has  been  published  regularly  since  1351.  Under  the  nev 
arrangements  three  editions  are  published  ;  the  first,  the  King-Paou,  printed  upon  yellov 
paper,  constitutes  the  official  gazette  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  ;  the  second,  the  Using 
Paou  (commercial  journal),  also  printed  upon  yellow  sheets,  contains  information  inter 
esting  to  the  trading  community  ;  while  the  third,  the  Titani  Paou  (provincial  gazette) 
printed  upon  red  paper,  consists  of  extracts  from  the  other  two  editions.  The  total  cir 
culation  of  the  three  issues  is  fifteen  hundred  copies.  The  editorship  is  confined  to  i 
committee  of  six  members  of  the  Academy  of  Han-Lin. 

The  second  inclosure,  or  Imperial  City,  is  about  three  times  as  large  as  the  Prohibite* 
City,  oblong  in  shape,  with  a  gate  in  each  of  the  four  walls.  Outside  the  southen 
entrance  there  is  quite  a  large  space  walled  in,  with  a  gate  on  the  south  called  that  o 
Great  Purity  ;  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  enter  it  except  on  foot,  unless  by  special  permis 


STREET    IN    HONG    KONG. 


304  Cities  of  the  World. 

sion.     In  the  Imperial  City  are  the  palaces  of  the  princes,  temples,  and  some  of  the 
government  offices. 

In  all  Chinese  buildings,  from  palace  to  hovel,  both  temples  and  private  dwellings, 
there  is  one  general  style  of  steep  concave  roof.  Dwelling-houses  are  usually  of  one 
story,  having  neither  cellars  nor  basements,  and  lighted  by  lattices  opening  into  a  court  ; 
they  must  not  be  as  high  as  the  temples  near  by,  nor  be  ornamented  in  the  same  fashion 
as  the  palaces  and  religious  buildings.  The  houses  are  commonly  made  of  bricks,  adobe 
or  matting  for  the  walls,  stone  for  the  foundation,  brick  tiling  for  the  roof,  and  wood 
only  for  the  inside  work  ;  stone  and  wooden  houses  are  so  rare  that  they  always  attract 
attention.  In  the  better  sort  of  houses  the  stonework  of  the  foundation  rises  three  'or 
four  feet  above  the  ground.  This  is  not  stone  from  the  solid  rock  of  the  earth,  but  a 
manufactured  article,  made  of  sifted  earth,  that  is,  decomposed  granite  or  gravel  and 
lime  mixed  with  water,  and  sometimes  a  little  oil,  pounded  into  a  solid  mass.  The  frame- 
work under  the  wide  eaves  of  the  palaces  is  tastefully  painted  in  green  and  gold,  and 
protected  by  a  netting  of  copper  wire.  The  yellow  and  green  glazed  tiles  of  public 
buildings,  and  the  dragons'  heads  and  globes  on  their  ridgepoles,  and  the  earthen  dogs 
at  the  corners  of  temples  and  official  houses  make  some  of  the  streets  very  pictur- 
esque. The  rooms  of  the  dwellings  are  arranged  in  sets,  separated  and  lighted  by 
courts  between,  and  reached  by  corridors.  Town  houses  have  no  opening  on  their 
fronts  except  the  door,  and  when  the  outer  walls  of  several  houses  join  those  of  gardens 
and  inclosures,  the  long  line  of  the  whole  street  is  unbroken  by  steps,  windows,  bal- 
conies, porticos,  or  front  yards.  The  bricks  are  the  same  size  as  our  own,  and  usually 
burned  to  a  grayish  slate  color.  The  walls  are  often  stuccoed,  or  occasionally  rubbed 
smooth  and  pointed  with  fine  cement.  In  place  of  a  broad  cornice  the  top  is  frequently 
relieved  by  a  pretty  ornament  of  molded  work  of  painted  clay  figures  in  high  relief, 
representing  a  battle  scene,  a  landscape,  clusters  of  flowers,  or  some  other  design,  de- 
fended from  the  weather  by  the  projecting  eaves,  a  covered  corridor  communicating  with 
each,  or  by  side  passages  leading  through  the  courts.  Here,  and  in  all  cities  where  the 
houses  are  cramped  and  the  lots  irregular  in  shape,  the  size  and  shape  of  the  rooms  vary. 

In  the  second  inclosure  are  the  Great  Temple  of  the  imperial  ancestors  and  other 
altars  and  temples,  very  holy  to  the  Chinese,  and  most  interesting  to  foreigners.  In  the 
northern  part  of  this  division  of  the  city  a  moat  and  wall,  more  than  a  mile  around, 
inclose  the  Prospect  Hill.  This  is  an  artificial  mound  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  with  each  of  its  five  summits  crowned  with  a  temple,  while  trees  of  various  kinds 
border  its  base,  and  line  the  paths  leading  to  the  tops.  The  western  part  of  this  inclos- 
ure is  chiefly  occupied  by  the  beautiful  Western  Park  ;  a  lake  in  the  center  is  adorned 
with  the  splendid  lotus,  crossed  by  a  fine  marble  bridge  from  one  bank  to  another, 
shaded  by  groves  of  trees,  under  which  are  well  paved  walks,  leading  to  other  parks 
adjoining.  Although  these  parks  are  designed  to  be  as  handsome  as  possible,  the  effect 


Pekin.  305 

of  their  beauty  is  marred  by  poor  keeping.  There  are  about  two  hundred  palaces  in  the 
inclosures,  each  of  which  is  said  to  be  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  greatest  of 
European  noblemen  with  all  his  retinue. 

Along  the  avenue  leading  south  from  the  Imperial  City  to  the  division  wall,  are  the 
principal  government  offices,  a  temple  for  the  worship  of  ancestors  in  the  midst  of  a 
grove  of  fir  and  other  trees,  and,  partly  upon  the  wall,  is  the  Observatory,  under  the 
care  of  Chinese  astronomers.  The  instruments  are  arranged  on  a  terrace  higher  than 
the  city  wall,  and  are  beautiful  pieces  of  bronze  art,  though  now  too  antiquated  to  be 
useful  for  practical  observations.  Some  distance  from  here  is  one  of  the  many 
lamasaris  of  the  city.  This  is  the  Buddhist  Convent  of  Eternal  Peace,  wherein  about 
fifteen  hundred  Mongol  and  Tibetan  priests  study  the  dogmas  of  Buddhism,  or  spend 
their  days  in  idleness,  under  the  control  of  a  Genen,  or  living  Buddha.  Directly  west  of 
this,  presenting  the  greatest  contrast  to  its  life  and  activity,  lies  the  Confucian  Temple, 
where,  embowered  in  a  grove  of  ancient  cypresses,  stands  the  imposing  Literary  Temple, 
in  which  the  "  Example  and  Teacher  of  all  Ages  "  and  ten  of  his  great  disciples  are 
worshiped. 

The  division  of  the  Northern  Pekin,  lying  outside  the  Imperial  City,  is  called  the 
General  City.  This  is  the  home  of  the  people  ;  it  is  more  densely  populated  than  the 
other  parts  and  contains  the  most  important  of  the  public  offices,  all  the  foreign  lega- 
tions, and  many  other  places  of  special  note  in  the  empire. 

The  Chinese  government  is  a  remarkable  one  for  many  reasons  :  it  is  very  ancient ; 
it  rules  vast  multitudes  of  people,  who  are,  in  the  main,  quiet,  able  and  industrious. 
The  general  plan  is  like  that  of  a  great  household.  The  Emperor  is  the  father,  or  sire, 
the  head  of  the  house  ;  his  officers  are  the  responsible  elders  of  its  provinces,  depart- 
ments, and  districts,  as  every  father  of  a  household  is  of  its  inmates  ;  and  nowhere  has 
this  system  been  so  thoroughly  regulated  and  so  consistently  carried  out  for  so  long  a 
time,  as  in  China.  Nominally  there  is  nothing  to  correspond  to  a  congress  or  parliament 
in  the  Chinese  government,  still  there  are  two  imperial  councils,  the  Cabinet,  or  Imperial 
Chancery,  and  the  Council  of  State,  each  of  which  has  different  power,  the  Council 
more  than  the  Cabinet.  Subordinate  to  these  two  Councils  are  several  Boards,  each  of 
which  looks  after  special  divisions  of  the  government  interests,  and  below  them  come 
rank  after  rank  of  inferior  officers,  none  of  which  are  in  any  way  elected  by  the  people. 
All  officers  of  government  are  supposed  to  be  ready  to  see  visitors  on  special  business 
at  any  time,  and  the  door  of  justice  is  open  to  all  who  claim  a  hearing  ;  and  in  fact, 
courts  are  held  at  all  hours  of  night  and  day,  though  the  regular  time  is  from  sunrise  to 
noonday.  Magistrates  are  not  allowed  to  go  abroad  in  ordinary  dress  or  without  their 
official  retinue,  which  varies  for  the  different  grades  of  rank. 

North  of  the  Imperial  City  lies  the  extensive  Yamun  of  the  Ti-tuh,  who  has  the 
police  and  garrison  of  the  city  under  his  control  and  exercises  great  authority  in  its  civil 


306  Cities  of  the   World. 

administration.  Close  by  are  the  Drum  and  Bell  Towers  on  the  street  that  leads  through 
the  center  of  the  northern  part  of  the  General  City  to  the  Wall.  Each  of  the  towers  is 
over  a  hundred  feet  high.  The  drum  and  bell  are  sounded  at  night  watches,  and  can 
be  heard  throughout  the  city  ;  an  ancient  clypsydra  is  still  kept  to  mark  time,  although 
clocks  are  now  in  general  use  and  correct  the  errors  of  the  clypsydra  itself.  Outside  of 
the  south-western  angle  of  the  Imperial  City  stands  the  Mohammedan  Mosque,  and  a 
large  number  of  Turks  whose  ancestors  were  brought  from  Turkestan  about  a  century 
ago  live  in  its  vicinity  ;  this  is  the  chief  resort  of  Moslems  who  come  to  the  capital. 
There  are  religious  edifices  in  the  Chinese  metropolis  appropriated  to  many  forms  of 
religion,  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  are  divided  into  sects  of  the  Greek,  Latin  and 
Protestant  Churches  ;  Islams,  Buddhists,  Rationalists,  worshipers  of  ancestors,  of  State, 
of  Confucius,  and  other  mortals  whom  they  look  upon  as  having  become  gods,  beside  a 
great  number  of  popular  idols  of  the  country.  The  principal  streets  of  the  General  City 
are  from  a  hundred  and  forty  to  two  hundred  feet  wide  ;  they  are  unpaved,  and  lined 
with  rows  of  shops,  painted  red,  blue  and  green,  and  decorated  with  curious  signs  of 
Chinese  characters  in  gilding  or  gayly  painted  colors,  and  balustrades  and  terraces  on  the 
roofs.  The  broad  thoroughfares  leading  across  Pekin,  from  one  gate  to  the  other, 
appear  even  wider  than  they  are  from  the  lowness  of  the  buildings  ;  the  center  is  about 
two  feet  higher  than  the  sides.  The  cross  streets  in  the  main  city  are  generally  at  right 
angles  with  them,  not  over  forty  feet  wide,  and  for  the  most  part  occupied  with  dwellings. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  avenues  are  required  to  keep  them  well  sprinkled  in  summer  ;  but 
in  rainy  weather  they  are  almost  impassable  from  the  mud  and  deep  puddles,  the  level 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  obstructed,  neglected  drains,  preventing  rapid  drainage.  The 
crowds  which  throng  these  avenues,  some  engaged  in  various  callings,  along  the  side  or 
in  the  middle  of  the  way,  others  busily  passing  and  repassing,  together  with  the  gay 
appearance  of  the  sign-boards,  and  an  air  of  business  in  the  shops,  make  the  great  streets 
very  bustling — and  to  a  foreigner  a  most  interesting — scene.  Shop-fronts  can  be 
entirely  opened  when  necessary  ;  they  are  constructed  of  panels  or  shutters  fitting  into 
grooves,  and  secured  to  a  row  of  strong  posts  set  into  mortises.  At  night,  when  the  shop 
is  closed,  nothing  of  it  can  be  seen  from  without ;  but  it  is  gay- and  full  of  life  in  the  day- 
time when  the  goods  are  exposed.  The  sign-boards  are  often  broad  planks,  fixed  in 
stone  vases  on  each  side  of  the  shop-front,  and  reaching  to  the  eaves,  or  above  them  ; 
the  characters  are  large  and  of  different  colors,  and  in  order  to  attract  more  notice  the 
signs  are  often  hung  with  various  colored  flags,  bearing  inscriptions  setting  forth  the 
excellence  of  the  goods.  The  shops  in  the  outer  city  are  often  built  in  this  manner, 
others  are  more  compact  for  warmth  in  winter,  but  as  a  whole  they  are  not  brilliant  in 
their  fittings.  Their  signs  are,  when  possible,  images  of  the  articles  sold,  and  always  have 
the  red  pennon  attached  ;  the  finer  shop-fronts  are  covered  with  gold-leaf,  brilliant  when 
new,  but  fading  soon,  and  then  shabby  enough.  So  the  appearance  of  the  main  streets 


308  Cities  of  the   World. 

is  a  curious  mixture  of  decay  and  decoration,  increased  by  the  dilapidated  temples  and 
governmental  buildings  everywhere  seen,  and  which  the  treasury  of  the  Empire  is  not 
full  enough  to  remedy. 

The  most  picturesque  of  all  the  Chinese  capitals  is  Hangchau,  of  the  maritime 
country  of  Chehkiang.  This  is  about  the  size  of  Ohio,  and  while  it  is  the  smallest  of  the 
eighteen  provinces,  it  is  one  of  the  richest  of  all.  Hangchau  is  but  one  of  its  great  cities, 
and  is  situated  in  the  northern  part  near  the  river  Tsientang.  One  half  of  the  people 
live  within  the  city  walls,  and  the  other  dwell  in  the  surrounding  suburbs  or  on  the 
waters. 

The  southern  city,  beyond  the  southern  walls,  or  cross-wall,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
Inner  City,  is  mostly  inhabited  by  Chinese,  and  has  more  dissipation  and  lees  dignity  and 
good  behavior  than  the  northern  city  ;  contains  hundreds  of  lewin-kwan,  or  club-houses, 
erected  by  the  gentry  of  cities  and  districts  of  all  parts  of  the  empire  to  accommodate 
their  citizens  while  staying  at  the  capital.  Its  streets  are  narrow,  but  every  thing  about 
its  buildings  and  markets  shows  that  the  people  are  industrious  and  full  of  life,  and  store- 
houses, theaters,  granaries  and  markets  attract  or  supply  their  customers  from  all  parts 
of  the  country. 

During  the  night  the  thoroughfares  are  quiet ;  they  are  lighted  a  little  by  lanterns 
hanging  before  the  houses,  but  generally  are  dark  and  cheerless.  Carts,  mules,  and 
donkeys  and  horses  are  to  be  hired  in  all  the  thoroughfares. 

Nearly  one  half  of  the  Outer  City  is  empty  of  dwellings,  much  of  the  open  land  being 
cultivated.  But  the  principal  part  of  the  provision  required  for  the  supply  of  this 
immense  city  comes  from  the  southern  provinces,  and  from  flocks  reared  beyond  the  wall. 
It  has  no  important  manufactures,  horn  lanterns,  wall  papers,  stone  snuff-bottles,  and 
pipe  mouth-pieces  being  the  chief  ones.  Trade  in  silks,  foreign  fabrics,  and  food  is 
limited  to  supplying  the  local  demand,  inasmuch  as  a  heavy  duty  at  the  gates 
restrains  all  enterprise.  No  foreign  merchant  is  allowed  to  carry  on  business  here.  The 
government  of  Pekin  differs  from  that  of  other  cities  in  the  empire,  in  its  divisions  and 
officers. 

The  environs  beyond  the  suburbs  outside  the  gates,  are  occupied  by  tombs,  tem- 
ples, private  mansions,  hamlets,  and  cultivated  fields,  in  or  near  which  are  trees,  so  that 
the- city  viewed  from  a  distance  appears  as  if  situated  in  a  thick  forest.  About  seven 
miles  to  the  north-west  at  Yuen  ming  Yuen  is  the  Emperor's  summer  palace,  occupying 
about  twelve  square  miles  of  beautiful  country.  The  land  in  this  direction  rises  into 
gentle  hills,  and  has  been  made  to  present  a  great  variety  of  hill  and  dale,  woodland 
and  lawns,  interspersed  with  pools,  lakes,  caverns,  and  islets  joined  by  bridges  and  walks. 
Some  parts  are  tilled,  and  groves  or  tangled  thickets  occur  here  and  there,  and  places  are 
purposely  left  wild  to  contrast  the  better  with  the  cultivated  precincts  of  a  place,  or  form 
a  rural  pathway  to  a  retired  temple  or  arbor. 


STREET    IN    CANTON. 


310  Cities  of  the  World. 

At  the  foot  of  the  White  Cloud  hills,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Pearl  river  is  Canton, 
in  wealth  the  first  city  in  China.  The  part  of  Canton  inclosed  by  walls  is  about  six 
miles  in  circumference  ;  having  a  partition  wall  running  east  and  west,  which  divides  it 
into  two  unequal  parts.  The  entire  circuit,  including  the  suburbs,  is  nearly  ten  miles. 
The  population  on  land  and  water  is  said  to  be  over  a  million  and  a  half.  There  are  at 
least  as  many  houses  without  the  walls  as  within  them,  besides  the  boats.  The  city  is 
constantly  increasing  ;  many  new  streets  in  the  western  suburbs  have  been  entirely  built 
up  within  the  last  ten  years.  The  houses  stretch  along  the  river  from  opposite  the  Fa  //, 
or  flower  grounds,  to  French  Folly,  a  distance  of  four  miles,  and  the  banks  are  every- 
where nearly  hidden  by  the  boats  and  rafts.  The  foundations  of  the  city  walls  are  of 
sandstone,  their  upper  part  of  brick  ;  they  are  about  twenty  feet  thick,  and  twenty-five  to 
forty  feet  high,  having  an  esplanade  on  the  inside,  and  pathways  leading  to  the  rampart, 
on  three  sides.  The  houses  are  built  near  the  wall  on  both  sides  of  it,  so  that  except  on 
the  north,  one  hardly  sees  it  when  walking  around  the  city.  There  are  twelve  outer 
gates,  four  in  the  partition  wall,  and  two  water  gates,  through  which  boats  pass  into  the 
moat  from  east  to  west.  A  ditch  once  encompassed  the  walls,  now  dry  on  the  northern 
side  ;  on  the  other  three,  and  within  the  city,  it  and  most  of  the  canals  are  filled  by  the 
tide,  which,  as  it  runs  out  does  much  to  cleanse  the  city.  The  gates  are  all  shut  at  night, 
and  a  guard  is  stationed  near  them  to  keep  order,  but  sometimes  the  idle  soldiers  cause 
considerable  disturbance.  From  the  hill  on  the  north,  the  city  is  a  tame  sight  of  red- 
dish roofs  often  hidden  by  frames  for  drying  or  dyeing,  or  shaded  and  relieved  by  a  few 
orange  trees,  and  interspersed  with  high,  red  poles  for  flag-staffs.  Far  above  the  watch- 
towers  on  the  walls,  the  five  storied  tower  on  the  Kwanyin  shan  near  the  northern  gate,  and 
the  two  prominent  pagodas,  shoot  up  above  the  level  of  the  roofs.  Amid  all  this  shines 
the  river,  covered  with  boats  of  different  colors  and  sizes,  some  stationary,  others  mov- 
ing, and  all  resounding  with  the  mingled  hum  of  laborers,  sailors,  musicians,  hucksters, 
children,  and  boatwomen,  pursuing  their  work  or  pleasures.  On  a  low  sandstone  ledge, 
in  the  channel,  off  the  city,  once  stood  the  Sea  Pearl  Fort,  called  Dutch  Folly  by 
foreigners.  Beyond,  on  its  southern  shore,  lie  the  suburb  and  island  of  Honam,  and 
green  fields  and  low  hills  are  seen  still  further  in  the  distance  ;  at  the  western  angle  of 
this  island  the  Pearl  River  divides,  at  the  Macao  Passage,  the  largest  body  of  water 
flowing  south  and  leaving  a  comparatively  narrow  channel  before  the  city.  The  hills  on 
the  north  rise  twelve  hundred  feet,  their  sides  for  miles  being  covered  with  graves  and 
tombs.  The  streets  of  this  vast  city  are  more  than  six  hundred,  with  some  of  the 
strangest  of  names,  as  Dragon  street,  Martial  Dragon  street,  Golden  Flower  street,  New 
Green  Pea  street,  Physic  street,  and  many  more  equally  odd.  They  are  not  dirty,  as 
those  of  some  other  cities  in  the  empire,  although  they  can  not  be  compared  to  modern 
cities  of  the  West.  Along  the  water  side,  wherever  the  river  rises  into  the  city,  the 
houses  are  built  upon  piles.  There  are  many  temples  and  many  public  build- 


Canton.  3 1 1 

ings  in  Canton.  The  temples  throughout  all  China  are  generally  cheerless  and  gloomy 
abodes.  The  entrance  courts  are  usually  occupied  by  hucksters,  and  beggars,  and  idlers, 
who  are  occasionally  driven  off  to  give  room  for  the  mat-sheds  in  which  theatrical 
performances  got  up  by  priests  are  given.  The  principal  hall,  where  the  idol  sits 
enshrined,  is  lighted  oddly  in  front,  and  the  altar,  drums,  bells,  and  other  furniture  of  the 
temple  do  not  enliven  it  much  ;  "  the  cells  and  cloisters  are  inhabited  by  men  almost  as 
senseless  as  the  idols  they  serve,  miserable  beings,  whose  droning,  useless  life  is  too  often 
only  a  cloak  for  vice,  indolence,  and  crime,"  which  make  the  Chinese  priests,  as  a  class, 
despised  by  their  countrymen.  Canton  is  the  most  influential  city  in  Southern  China, 


CHINESE    MODES 'OF    TORTURE. 

and  throughout  the  empire  it  has  a  reputation  for  riches  and  luxury,  from  the  fact 
that  for  two  hundred  years,  up  to  1843,  it  engrcssed  all  the  foreign  trade  of  the  country. 
A  series  of  troubles  and  some  bad  fires  greatly  distressed  the  city  after  that,  but  it  has 
recovered  largely  and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition  now.  The  trades  and  manufac- 
tories are  mainly  connected  with  the  foreign  commerce.  Many  silk  fabrics  for  the 
Canton  market  are  woven  at  Falshan,  a  large  town  on  the  west  of  the  city  ;  fire-crackers, 
paper,  mat-sails,  cotton  cloth,  and  other  articles  are  also  made  there  for  exportation. 
There  are,  including  embroiderers,  about  fifty  thousand  people  in  Canton  engaged  in 


312  Cities  of  the  World. 

weaving  cloth,  while  seven  thousand  as  barbers,  and  four  thousand  two  hundred  as  shoe- 
makers are  stated  as  the  number  licensed  to  shave  the  crowns  and  shoe  the  soles  of  their 
fellow  citizens. 

The  recreation  grounds  of  the  Cantonese  are  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
among  the  fields  of  the  suburb  of  Honamy,  or  in  the  cool  grounds  of  the  great  temple. 
The  flower  gardens,  where  pleasure  parties  go,  are  a  couple  of  miles  up  the  river. 

The  chief  sights  of  the  city  are  said  to  be  the  peak  of  Yenhsin,  just  within  the  walls 
on  the  north  of  the  city,  the  Lyre  Pagoda  at  Whampoa,  and  the  Eastern  Sea  Fish-pearl, 
the  ledge  where  Dutch  Folly  stood  ;  the  pavilion  of  the  Five  Genii,  with  the  five  stone 
rams,  and  near  by,  the  print  of  a  man's  foot  in  the  rock,  always  filled  with  water,  the  natives 
tell  you  ;  the  rocks  of  Yu-shan  ;  the  lucky  wells  of  Fankin  in  the  western  suburbs  ;  and 
a  famous  red  building  in  the  city.  But  to  a  stranger  the  ordinary  sights  of  this  vast 
metropolis  are  the  most  interesting  ;  they  are  the  narrow  streets,  houses  and  shops 
huddled  together,  the  numerous  temples  and  assembly  halls,  people,  and  the  gardens,  tea 
houses  and  pools  that  are  open  to  the  public  and  always  thronged  with  people. 

The  gayest  and  the  best  built  cities  of  the  empire  are  in  the  province  of  Kiangsu, 
which  lies  along  the  sea-coast  and  is  about  the  size  of  Pennsylvania.  Here  the  beauties 
and  riches  of  China  are  collected  and  displayed  by  nature  in  vast  fields  producing  grain, 
cotton,  tea,  silk  and  rice,  and  watered  by  the  Great  River,  the  Grand  Canal,  many  smaller 
streams  and  canals,  and  a  succession  of  lakes  along  the  line  of  the  canal.  From  here 
come  the  most  perfect  of  Chinese  manufactures  ;  so  that  any  thing  of  extra  fine  workman- 
ship is  attributed  to  the  capital,  Nanking,  which  is  called  by  the  natives  Kiangning  fu. 
It  was  once  the  metropolis  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  and  is  now  compared  to  Rome  in  its 
partially  deserted  condition,  with  so  many  melancholy  remains  of  departed  glory  stand- 
ing round.  Both  of  these,  however,  have  no  brighter  prospects  for  the  future.  Not  far 
from  the  walls  there  are  several  ancient  guardian  statues  of  warriors  cased  in  armor, 
which  form  an  avenue  leading  to  the  sepulcher  where  the  Emperor  Hung  wu  was  buried 
about  1398.  Some  distance  further  are  a  number  of  rude  colossal  figures  of  horses,  ele- 
phants, and  other  animals,  all  intended  to  represent  the  guardians  of  the  dead.  Nanking 
is  most  celebrated  abroad  for  the  great  Porcelain  Tower  which  stood  here  until  about 
thirty  years  ago,  when  the  Tai-pings  blew  it  up  from  a  superstition  that  it  would  work 
against  their  cause.  The  manufactures  of  the  city  are  extensive  in  fine  satin  and  crape, 
Nankeen  cotton  cloth,  paper,  so-called  India  ink,  and  beautiful  artificial  flowers  and 
pith  paper.  It  is  renowned,  too,  as  an  official  center,  for  its  scholars  and  literary  char- 
acters, and  stands  among  the  first  places  of  learning  in  the  country,  with  large  libraries 
and  book-stores. 

In  Suchan  Kiangsu  has  a  still  larger  and  a  richer  city  than  Nanking.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  islands  lying  in  the  Ta  hu,  and  from  this  sheet  of  water  many  streams  and  canals 
connect  the  city  with  most  parts  of  the  province.  The  walls  are  about  ten  miles  in  cir- 


314  Cities  vf  the  World. 

cumference  ;  outside  of  them  are  four  suburbs,  one  of  which  is  said  to  extend  ten  miles 
beside  which  there  is  an  immense  floating  population — probably  about  a  million  in  all 
The  whole  space  includes  many  canals  and  pools  connected  with  the  Grand  Canal  anc 
the  lake,  through  highly  cultivated  surroundings.  The  Chinese  regard  this  as  one  o 
their  richest  and  most  beautiful  cities,  and  have  a  saying  "  that  to  be  happy  on  earth,  on< 
must  be  born  in  Suchan,  live  in  Canton,  and  die  in  Lianchau,  for  in  the  first  are  th< 
handsomest  people,  in  the  second  the  most  costly  luxuries,  and  in  the  third  the  best  cof 
fins."  The  high  buildings,  the  elegant  tombs,  the  picturesque  scenery  of  waters  anc 
gardens,  the  politeness  and  intelligence  of  the  people,  and  the  beauty  of  the  women  o: 
Suchan  give  it  a  high  reputation.  Its  manufactures  of  silk,  linen,  cotton,  and  works  ir 
iron,  ivory,  wood,  horn,  glass,  lacquered-ware,  paper,  and  other  articles,  are  the  chie: 
sources  of  its  wealth  and  prosperity  ;  the  kinds  of  silk  goods  produced  here  are  mor< 
rich  and  in  greater  variety  than  those  woven  in  any  other  place.  Vessels  come  up  to  th< 
city  by  several  channels  from  the  Yangtze-kiang,  but  junks  of  large  burden  anchor  a 
Shanghai.  The  whole  country  is  so  cut  up  by  natural  and  artificial  water-courses  tha 
the  people  have  hardly  any  need  of  roads  and  carts,  but  get  about  in  barrows  and  sedans 
Small  steamers  find  their  way  to  every  large  village  at  high  tide. 

South-east  of  Suchan,  leading  through  a  continual  range  of  villages  and  cities  i; 
Shanghai,  whose  name  means" approaching  the  sea."  It  is  one  of  the  leading  commercia 
cities  of  Asia.  It  is  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Wasung  River,  about  fourteen  miles  frorr 
its  mouth,  with  communications  to  many  of  the  large  cities  on  the  Grand  Canal  of  China 
Like  nearly  all  the  cities  of  the  empire,  it  is  surrounded  by  walls  and  ditches  and  enterec 
by  lofty  gates.  The  population  is  about  five  hundred  thousand.  It  is  a  dirty  place,  anc 
poorly  built.  The  houses  are  mostly  made  of  bluish  square  brick,  and  the  streets,  which 
are  paved  with  stone  slabs,  are  only  about  eight  feet  wide,  and,  in  the  daytime,  crowded 
with  people.  Silk  and  embroidery,  cotton  and  cotton  goods,  porcelain,  ready-made 
clothes,  beautiful  skins  and  furs,  bamboo  pipes  of  every  size,  bamboo  ornaments,  pic- 
tures, bronzes,  specimens  of  old  porcelain,  and  other  curiosities,  highly  valued  by  the 
Chinese,  are  gathered  in  the  Shanghai  shops  in  great  quantities.  The  most  extensive 
trade,  however,  is  carried  on  in  articles  of  food.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  get  through 
the  streets  from  the  immense  quantities  of  fish,  pork,  fruit,  and  vegetables  which  crowd 
the  stands  in  front  of  the  shops.  Dining  rooms,  tea  houses,  bakers'  shops,  are  seen  al 
every  step,  from  the  poor  man  who  carries  around  his  kitchen  or  bake-house,  altogethei 
hardly  worth  a  dollar,  to  the  most  extensive  tavern  or  tea-house  crowded  with  customers. 
For  a  few  cash,  a  Chinese  can  dine  upon  rice,  fish,  vegetables  and  tea,  his  table  in  the 
street  or  on  the  ground,  in  a  house  or  on  a  deck.  Large  warehouses  for  storing  goods, 
granaries  and  temples  are  common  in  Shanghai,  but  neither  these  nor  the  public  build- 
ings are  either  striking  in  themselves  or  peculiar  to  this  city  alone.  The  contrast 
between  the  narrow,  noisome,  and  reeking  parts  of  the  native  city,  and  the  clean,  spacious, 


Tientsin. 


315 


well-shaded  and  well-paved  streets  and  large  houses  of  the  foreign  residents,  is  like  that 
seen  in  India. 

One  of  the  greatest  ports  of  China  is  Tientsin.  This  is  a  large  and  important  city 
and  river  port,  situated  eighty  miles  south-east  of  Pekin.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important 
places  in  the  empire,  and  is  the  key  of  the  capital,  although  Lung  Chan  is  really  its 


THE    GREAT    WALL    IN    CHINA. 


port.  Only  the  central  part  of  Tientsin  is  well  built  with  peculiar  and  regular  houses, 
while  the  larger  portion  of  the  city  consists  of  narrow,  unpaved  streets  with  houses  of  mud 
or  dried  bricks.  But  it  is  a  bustling  place,  where  junks  crowd  the  shores  in  great  numbers 
that  can  not  be  counted,  and  contains  a  very  important  part  of  the  half  million  or  more 
of  people  which  make  up  the  population. 


Cities  of  the   World. 


The  city  of  Si-ngan  is  the  capital  of  north-west  China,  and  is  said  to  stand  next  to 
Pekin  in  size,  population,  and  importance.  It  is  of  great  historical  interest,  and  during 
many  centuries  of  activity  has  upheld  its  ancient  name  of  the  city  of  Continuous  Peace. 
The  population — somewhere  near  a  million — occupies  the  entire  space  within  its  imposing 
walls  ;  a  mingled  company  of  Tibetans,  Mongols  and  Tartars,  many  of  whom  are  Mos- 
lems. The  city  has  been  taken  and  retaken,  rebuilt  and  destroyed,  since  its  establish- 
ment in  the  twelfth  century  B.  C.  by  the  martial  king,  but  it  has  always  held  some  con- 
trol of  the  trade  between  the  central  and  western  provinces  and  Western  Asia.  Some 
miles  to  the  north-west  lies  the  temple  of  Ta-fu-sz',  containing  the  largest  statue  of 
Buddha  in  China.  It  stands  in  a  cave  hewn  out  of  the  sandstone  rock  ;  its  height  is 
fifty-six  feet,  the  figure  and  gaiments  richly  covered  with  color  and  gilt. 

^^^^  The  "  Happy  City  "of  the  Chi- 

*E^&£^.  nese,  which  we  call  Fu-Chow-Foo,  or 
Fuchan,isone  of  the  most  beauti- 
fully situated  in  the  empire.  It  lies 
in  a  plain,  surrounded  by  hills  form- 
ing a  natural  and  most  magnificent 
amphitheater,  as  fertile  as  it  is  beau- 
tiful. Suburbs  extend  from  the  walls 
three  miles  to  the  banks  of  the  Min, 
and  stretch  along  on  both  sides  of 
the  stream.  They  are  connected  with 
each  other,  and  a  small  islet  in  the 
river,  by  a  stone  bridge  built  in  the 
eleventh  century.  The  scenery  is 
bold,  with  pines  covering  the  sur- 
rounding hills  not  occupied  by  graves 
MUTUAL  ASSISTANCE.  or  by  cultivated  fields.  Some  of 

the  hills  north  of  the  city  are  three  thousand  feet  high.  Opposite  Fuchan  the  land  is 
lower  and  the  suburb  is  built  upon  an  island  formed  by  the  division  of  the  main  channel 
seven  miles  above  the  city  ;  the  branches  reunite  at  Pagoda  Island.  The  river  is  crowd- 
ed with  floating  dwellings,  ferry-boats,  and  trading  craft.  The  river  is  always  a  lively 
place,  and  is  gay  and  picturesque,  too,  from  the  flowers  growing  in  pots  on  the  boats,  and 
worn  by  the  boat-women  in  their  hair.  The  city  is  divided  into  wards  and  neighbor- 
hoods, each  of  which  is  under  its  own  police  and  head  men,  who  are  responsible  each  for 
their  own  districts.  One  of  the  best  views  of  Fuchan  is  from  a  height  on  the  south, 
whence  the  square  battlements  of  the  wall  are  seen  extending  in  a  winding  and  irregular 
circuit  for  more  than  eight  miles,  and  inclosing  most  of  the  buildings,  except  on  the  south. 
On  the  south-east,  a  steep  hill  partly  built  up  with  dwellings,  and  another  on  the 


Fuchan. 


extreme  north  is  surmounted  by  a  watch-tower.  Two  pagodas  within,  and  fantastic 
looking  watch-towers  upon  the  walls,  look-out  houses  standing  upon  the  roofs  of 
buildings,  or  over  the  street,  large,  regular  built  granaries,  and  a  vast  number  of  flag- 
staffs  in  pairs  indicating  temples  and  offices,  rise  out  of  the  level  of  the  ordinary  roofs 
partly  hidden  by  large  trees.  Everywhere  the  city  is  equally  well-built,  with  few  vacant 
spaces,  the  margin  of  West  Lake  lined  with  temples  and  other  buildings  ;  a  bridge 
crossing  its  expanse,  and  fishing  nets  and  boats  floating  upon  its  bosom. 

About  eight  thousand  Manchus — one  of  the  great  races  of  the  empire,  and  perhaps 
the  finest  people  in  the  entire  population  of  Asia— occupy  the  eastern  side  of  the  city. 
The  hill  of  the  Nine  Genii  on  the  southern  part  of  town  is  a  very  attractive  place,  to 
citizens  and  to  strangers.  The  city  wall  runs  over  it,  and  on  its  sides  little  houses  are 
built  upon  rocky  steps  ;  numerous  inscrip- 
tions are  carved  on  the  face  of  the  rocks. 
Near  the  eastern  entrance,  called  the  Bath 
Gate,  is  a  small  suburb,  where  Chinese  and 
Manchus  live  together,  and  take  care  of 
many  wells  filled  from  springs  near  by  ; 
people  come  here  in  large  crowds  to  wash 
and  amuse  themselves.  The  citizens  of 
Fuchan  are  a  well  educated,  reserved, 
proud,  rather  turbulent  people,  unlike  the 
polite,  affable  natives  further  north. 

Many  culprits  wearing  the  cangue — or 
Chinese  form  of  punishment — are  to  be 
seen  in  the  streets,  and  in  passing  you  do 
not  hear  the  sounds  of  merriment  com- 
mon to  other  towns.  There  is  also  a  gen-  CHINESE  WOMAN'S  SHOE  AND  MODEL  OF  A 
eral  lack  of  courtesy  between  acquaint- 
ances meeting  in  the  highway,  which  is  very  unusual  in  China.  The  beggars 
that  crowd  the  thoroughfares  seem  to  touch  the  feelings  of  the  people  as  little 
as  the  other  and  more  serious  abominations,  allowed  in  the  streets  of  almost  every 
quarter.  The  streets  of  Fuchan,  after  the  fashion  of  Chinese  towns,  are  usually  thronged 
with  craftsmen,  hucksters  and  shopmen,  who  seem  to  feel  that  the  more  they  get  in  their 
customers  way,  the  more  likely  they  are  to  sell  them  something.  The  shops  are  thrown 
open  so  widely  and  show  such  a  variety  of  articles,  or  expose  the  workmen  so  plainly, 
that  the  whole  street  seems  to  be  rather  the  stalls  of  a  market,  or  the  aisle  in  a  manu- 
factory, than  the  town-thoroughfare.  There  are  few  important  manufactures  here  ;  most 
of  the  business,  as  well  as  the  supplies  of  the  city,  coming  from  the  interior  by  way  of  the 
River  Min.  One  half  of  the  men  of  Fuchan  are  said  to  be  opium-smokers  ;  and  mill- 


318  Cities  of  the    World. 

ions  of  dollars  are  spent  here  every  year  for  the  drug.  The  population  of  the  city  and 

suburbs  is  reckoned  at  over 
a  million  souls,  including 
the  boat  people ;  it  is  one  of 
the  chief  cities  in  the  Em- 
pire in  size,  trade  and  influ- 
ence. The  island  in  the 
river  is  settled  by  trading 
people,  most  of  whom  are 
sailors  and  boatmen.  The 
country  women,  who  bring 
vegetables  and  poultry  to 
market,  are  robust  and 
strong,  a  great  contrast  to 
the  sickly-looking,  little- 
CHINESE  CHILDREN.  footed  ladies  of  the  city. 

Fishing-boats  are  numerous  in  the  river  and  many  of  them  are  furnished  with  cormorants. 


CORMORANT    FISHING. 


JAPAN. 

THE  island  empire  lying  off  the  north-eastern  coast  of  Asia  is  known  to  us  as  Japan, 
to  the  people  themselves  as  "Great  Nippon."  It  is  composed  mainly  of  four 
good  sized  islands  lying  like  a  crescent,  separated  from  the  continent  by  the  Japan  Sea. 
Yezo,  the  northern  island,  is  thinly  inhabited,  but  the  main  island,  Hondo,  or  Niphon, 
as  it  is  known  to  us,  and  the  other  more  southerly  ones  are  well  peopled.  Besides  the 
four  main  islands  there  are  about  four  thousand  others  of  all  sizes,  some  large,  with 


STREET    IN    YOKOHAMA. 

several  towns,  others  mere  specks  of  rocks.  The  entire  area  of  the  empire  is  about 
equal  to  that  of  the  New  England  and  Middle  States  ;  the  population  is  larger  than 
that  of  Great  Britain,  and  somewhat  under  that  of  France.  This  sea-girt  empire  has 
altogether  between  sixty  and  seventy  cities,  fifty  of  which  are  somewhat  smaller  than 
Portland,  Maine,  six  have  about  as  many  people  as  Troy,  New  York,  and  another  six 
are  rated  as  nearly  twice  the  size  of  Richmond,  Virginia.  Besides  these  there  are 
three  great  cities,  the  chief  of  which  is  Tokio,  once  called  Yedo.  The  Gulf  of  Yedo 
is  a  large  and  sheltered  arm  of  the  sea,  in  about  the  center  of  the  eastern  coast  of 
Niphon,  and  at  its  head  lies  the  city  ;  but  the  bay  is  shallow  here,  so  large  vessels  stop 


320 


Cities  of  the   World. 


eighteen  miles  below  at  Yokohama,  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf.  This  is  a  nev 
and  American-looking  town,  which  was  only  a  fishing  village  when  Commodore  Perr] 
anchored  his  fleet  in  the  Mississippi  Bay,  not  far  away,  while  he  negotiated  with  th< 
government  for  the  treaty  with  the  United  States,  which  undid  the  gates  of  th< 


TATTOOED    JAPANESE. 


WOMAN    AND    CHILD. 


forbidding  empire  to  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world.  A  railroad  runs  directl) 
from  Yokohama  to  the  capital,  and  takes  you  there  in  an  hour.  After  London,  Tokic 
is  the  most  extensive  city  in  the  world  ;  but  in  population  is  about  the  size  of  Berlir 
and  Vienna.  It  stands  on  a  great  plain  which  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  Japan 
The  surrounding  country,  which  is  tilled  with  great  care  and  skill,  yields  handsomely  : 


322  Cities  of  the  World. 

it  is  abundantly  watered  by  several  large  streams,  while  smaller  ones  intersect  it  in  every 
direction,  forming  many  rich  and  lovely  valleys. 

The  Great  River,  or  Ogawa,  divides  the  city  into  an  eastern  and  western  portion, 
which  is  united  by  half  a  dozen  broad  bridges.  The  western  part  is  the  largest  and 
most  important.  After  the  same  fashion  as  the  Chinese  cities  Tokio  is  built  in  three 
sections,  one  within  another.  The  innermost  is  the  citadel,  in  which  the  palace  of  the 
Shoguns  used  to  stand.  Many  times  the  palace  was  burned  and  rebuilt,  but  since  it  was 
destroyed  in  1872  the  great  beautiful  parks  surrounding  the  spot  have  been  kept  in 
good  order,  but  so  far  the  palace  itself  is  wanting  ;  but  the  wall  inclosing  the  grounds 
still  preserve  this — the  highest  point  in  the  capital — as  a  citadel.  There  are  great 
stones  in  this  rampart  which  were  brought  two  hundred  miles.  Outside  the  citadel,  is 
O-shiro,  and  engirdling  it,  is  Soto-shiro,  a  part  of  the  city  made  up  of  palaces, 
temples,  universities,  and  schools  for  arts  and  trades,  for  Tokio  has  many  excellent 
institutions  for  young  men  who  would  study  law,  engineering,  medicine,  and  chemistry. 

Since  Japan  has  opened  her  doors  to  the  world  there  has  been  in  every  part  of 
the  country  a  great  deal  of  interest  taken  in  education  ;  many  mor«  schools  have 
been  opened  ;  scientific,  industrial  and  other  institutes,  such  as  there  are  in  Europe 
and  in  our  own  country,  have  been  founded.  The  center  for  all  this  educational  interest 
is  at  the  capital  ;  the  Imperial  University  has  more  than  a  hundred  foreign  professors. 
There  is  a  fine  naval  college  here,  too,  and  the  main  body  of  the  new  imperial  army 
is  located  and  drilled  here.  The  famous  Bridge  of  Japan  is  in  this  part  of  the  city. 
It  is  considered  the  center  of  the  empire  and  all  geographical  distances  are  reckoned 
from  this.  Through  the  eastern  part  of  Soto-shiro  runs  the  great  highroad  of  Japan, 
the  Tokaido.  Beyond,  surrounding  both  the  others,  lies  the  outer  section,  the  general 
city.  Here  is  the  temple  of  K'wanon,  which  is  the  most  venerated  of  any  in  Japan,  and 
that  of  Kanda-Niyojin,  the  guardian  deity  of  the  city.  The  old  temple  of  Confucius  is 
now  a  public  library,  stocked  with  Japanese,  Chinese,  and  European  books.  The 
foreign  quarter  is  part  of  the  old  district  of  Yedo,  called  Filled-up  Land  ;  it  faces 
the  river  and  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  canals.  It  is  well  paved,  cleaned  and 
lighted  ;  but  all  Tokio  is  modernized  now,  and  as  many  parts  of  the  city  are  more 
favorable  for  dwellings  than  this,  the  foreign  officials  at  the  consulates,  missionaries, 
and  a  few  merchants  are  the  only  persons  who  live  here. 

The  streets  in  this  quarter  and  leading  from  it  are  lined  with  open  houses  and 
shops,  showing  the  doings  of  the  family  as  freely  as  those  of  the  workman.  You  can 
see  the  mechanics  at  work  as  you  pass  along.  They  are  all  down  on  the  floor.  There 
is  a  blacksmith  pulling  the  bellows  with  his  foot  while  he  is  holding  and  hammering 
with  both  hands.  He  keeps  his  dinner  pot  boiling  with  what  flame  there  is  to  spare 
from  keeping  his  many  irons  hot.  Here  are  shops  full  of  ivory  carvings,  some  of  them 
most  delicate  and  beautiful  works  of  art,  and  nearly  all  put  to  one  use,  the  nitsukis. 


Tokio. 


323 


This  is  a  large  button,  made  with  two  holes  through  which  runs  a  silken  cord  that  holds 
a  gentleman's  pipe  and  pouch  in  his  girdle  ;  for  no  Japanese  is  without  his  smoking 
apparatus,  made  up  of  a  tiny-bowled,  brass-tipped  bamboo  pipe  in  its  case,  one  bag 
containing  flint,  tinder  and  steel,  and  another  to  hold  his  tobacco.  The  branches  of 
trade  keep  together  in  different  streets.  In  one  there  are  quantities  of  bureaus  and 
cabinets  ;  in  another,  folding  screens,  or  dyer's  shops.  One  street  has  a  forest  of 
bamboo  poles  for  sale.  The  main  street  of  the  capital  is  the  Tori ;  it  is  much  wider 
than  Broadway  in  New  York,  which  measures  about  seventy-five  feet  across.  The  shops 
here  are  gayer,  the  goods 
are  richer,  and  the  crowds 
are  more  dense  than  any 
where  else  in  the  city ;  but, 
according  to  our  ideas,  there 
is  not  one  really  handsome 
looking  store  the  whole 
length  of  it.  The  crowds 
are  mainly  of  copper  colored 
natives,  but  they  have  a  fa- 
miliar appearance,  for  most 
of  the  men  dress  in  the  Eu- 
ropean fashion,  showing 
more  clothes  and  less  skin 
than  used  to  be  the  native 
custom.  Thousands  wear 
hats,  coats,  trowsers,  and 
carry  watches.  Carriages  are 
numerous,  but  in  and  out 
among  the  throng  the  jin-  TRAVELING  IN  TOKIO. 

riki-shas  are  almost  as  plentiful  as  ever.  These  "  man-power  carriages "  are  cur- 
ious little  cabs  on  two  wheels,  like  an  overgrown  baby  carriage  with  shafts,  and 
drawn  by  Japanese  men  of  the  lower  classes.  When  you  wish  to  go  very 
fast  you  hire  two  men,  one  to  push  ;  and  sometimes  three  are  employed  and  run  tandem 
with  the  jaunty  little  car.  Sometimes  these  ska  are  made  in  the  shape  of  a  boat,  and 
many  of  them  very  finely  ornamented.  There  is  an  air  of  bustle  and  energy  here  and 
all  through  the  city  now  that  was  wanting  a  while  ago.  The  modernization  of  the 
Mikado's  capital  has  banished  beggars,  guard-houses,  and  the  sentinels  that  used  to 
keep  watch  at  the  black  gates  in  the  high  fences  which  inclosed  the  foreign  quarter. 
Foreigners  are  safe  nowadays,  and  a  uniformed  police  are  ready  to  preserve  the  peace 
among  all  alike.  One  of  the  peculiar  kind  of  Japanese  buildings  is  the  yashiki,  which 


:\ -i.'^    ' 

" 


324 


Cities  of  the   World. 


means  the  "spread  out  house,"  and  is  a  sort  of  feudal  castle.  It  is  usually  in  the  form 
of  a  hollow  square,  inclosing  from  ten  thousand  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
square  feet  of  ground.  On  the  street  front  it  looks  like  a  continuous  house  on  stone 
foundations,  with  rows  of  wooden  barred  or  grated  windows.  The  four  sides  of  the 
square  within  are  made  up  of  four  rows  of  houses,  usually  extending  in  four  unbroken 
lines.  In  the  center  are  the  mansions  of  the  daimio,  or  military  prince,  and  his 


THE    STREET    BALLAD-SINGER. 

ministers.  The  retainers  of  lower  rank  occupy  the  long  houses  which  form  the  sides  of 
the  square.  The  remainder  of  the  space  within  the  inclosure  is  used  for  pleasure  and 
produce  gardens,  recreation  grounds,  tarket  walks,  and  fire-proof  houses.  All  the 
largest  yashikis  have  three  divisions,  the  superior,  middle,  and  inferior.  In  the  third  the 
servants  and  least  important  followers  live  ;  in  the  second  the  ordinary  clansmen  are 
housed,  while  the  lord  of  the  clan  dwells  in  the  central  building.  This  is  approached 


3*5 

from  the  great  gate  by  a  wide  stone  path  and  grand  wood  portico.  Long,  wide 
corridors,  laid  with  soft  mats,  lead  to  the  master's  chamber.  The  wood  work  in 
natural  colors  is  interspersed  with  black,  lacquer-like  enamel.  The  walls  are  gorgeously 
papered  with  gold,  silver,  or  the  fanciful  designs  and  brilliant  colors  peculiar  to 
Japanese  art.  The  sliding  doors  or  partitions  of  which  three  sides  of  a  Japanese  room 
is  composed  are  sometimes  decorated  in  beautiful  painting  of  the  bamboo  and  lily,  the 
stork,  tortoise,  marvelous  fans  and  other  favorite  studies.  These  buildings  were  the 


DOMESTIC    ALTAR    OF    THE    GODS   OF    HAPPINESS. 

glory  of  old  Yedo,  but  the  almost  nightly  fires  have  swept  many  of  them  away,  and  they 
are  not  rebuilt,  for  under  the  new  government  they  are  not  needed  ;  feudalism  forms  no 
part  of  the  present  empire  of  Japan.  The  chief  importance  of  Tokio  is  as  the 
national  capital ;  but  there  is  considerable  export  trade  passing  through  it  to  Yokohama. 
The  whole  business  part  is  studded  with  clay  fire-proof  store  houses,  not  only  for  mer- 
chandise, but  to  receive  all  the  valuables  in  the  neighborhood  as  soon  as  a  fire  breaks 
out.  As  soon  as  the  building  is  filled  the  massive  iron  doors  and  shutters  of  these 
dova  are  cemented  air-tight  and  preserve  their  contents  while  all  the  light  buildings 
round  about  are  swiftly  swept  away.  For  many  years  the  houses  burned  down  have 


326 


Cities  of  the   World. 


always  been  replaced  by  the  same  style  of  light,  inflammable  structures  ;  but  solid  brick 
and  stone  houses  are  now  taking  their  places. 

Ozaka,  the  second  city  of  Japan,  is  but  about  one -quarter  the  size  of  Tokio,  having 
a  population  of  about  three  hundred  thousand.  It  is  situated  on  a  large  river  some 
twenty  miles  from  the  south-east  coast  of  the  main  land,  in  the  most  central  and 
thickly  settled  part  of  the  empire.  It  is  a  very  important  trading  place,  chiefly  because 
it  is  in  the  midst  of  the  great  tea  districts.  It  is  clean  and  regularly  built,  with  hundreds  of 
wooden  iron  bridges  spanning  streams  that  thread  their  way  through  the  city  in  every 


A    DOMESTIC    SCENE. 

direction.  These  waterways  are  some  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares  of  Ozaka;  house- 
boats fitted  up  comfortably  for  passengers,  and  all  sort  of  freight-craft,  glide  back  and 
forth  past  the  wooden  houses,  in  much  the  same  numbers  and  interesting  variety  as 
others  of  a  far  different  build  float  over  the  palace  lined  water  streets  of  Venice.  This,  like 
all  places  in  Japan,  has  many  temples  to  Buddha  and  other  deities,  and  two  Christian 
churches.  Some  of  the  public  buildings  are  imposing  structures,  especially  the  municipal 
hall,  and  the  extensive  Roman-looking  mint,  where  a  large  part  of  the  coin  in  Japan  is 
cut.  It  is  a  thrifty  and  a  gay  city  with  plenty  of  theaters,  singing-girls  and  other  popu- 
lar amusements.  The  ladies  here  are  even  more  tasteful  and  fashionable  than  those  in 
the  capital;  perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  more  beautiful.  The  ancient  capital  and  the 


Kioto. 


327 


residence  of  the  emperor,  when  he  was  only  the  mikado,  or  spiritual  ruler,  was  at  Kioto, 
which  is  also  called  Miako,  and  Sai-Kiyo.  It  is  now  the  third  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
country,  with  about  the  same  number  of  people  as  Ozaka.  This  was  the  chief  center  of 
the  national  religion,  at  the  time  of  the  double  rule  in  Japan,  and  has  still  some  vast 
and  splendid  temples.  The  houses  are  mostly  of  the  better  class,  and  the  streets  that 
cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  are  broad  and  clean.  When  the  great  revolution  broke 
out  in  1868,  and  the  shogun,  or  temporal  ruler,  was  deposed,  the  mikado  was  given  com- 
plete authority  over  the  affairs  of  the  empire.  He  then  removed  his  court  to  Yedo, 
which  became  Tokio.  This  took  away  many  of  the  wealthy  people  of  the  city  ;  but  it 
is  still  the  seat  of  a  large  interior  trade  and  is  a  very  flourishing  place,  famous  for  the 
manufacture  and  dyeing  of  silks.  It  is  also  the  center  of  Japanese  literature  and  art. 


JAPANESE    CANDLESTICKS    AND    CENSERS. 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 

THE  largest  and  most  important  city  in  South  America  is  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the 
capital  of  the  Brazilian  empire.  It  stands  on  a  magnificent  harbor  just  above 
the  tropic  of  Capricorn  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  continent.  It  is  land-locked,  entered 
on  the  south  by  a  mile-wide  passage,  and  often  described  as  the  most  beautiful,  secure 
and  spacious  in  the  world.  It  extends  seventeen  miles  inland,  and  in  the  widest  place 
measures  twelve  miles  across  ;  although  its  entrance  is  guarded  by  mountains  and  many 
islands  are  scattered  through  the  bay,  its  waters  are  so  free  from  danger  that  pilots  are 
not  needed  to  take  ships  in  and  out.  There  are  fifty  square  miles  of  anchorage  within 
the  harbor,  not  a  tenth  part  of  which  is  now  used.  The  bay  is  girded  with  mountains 
and  lofty  hills  of  every  variety  of  picturesque  and  fantastic  outline,  and  across  the  blue 
waters  lies  the  city,  old  and  new,  along  the  western  shore  ;  the  white-walled  and  vermil- 
ion-roofed houses  climbing  the  seven  green  and  mound-like  hills,  or  clustering  in  the 
valleys  between.  Convents  or  churches  stand  on  the  summits  of  some  of  the  hills  within 
the  city  limits,  and  streets,  sometimes  only  scatteringly  lined  with  houses,  climb  part  of 
the  way  up  others.  The  city  is  a  great  sprawling,  shapeless  place  ;  and  while  the  main 
business  part  near  the  bay  is  compactly  laid  out  in  regular  squares  of  narrow  paved  and 
flagged  streets  of  granite  houses,  roofed  with  tile,  beyond  that  there  are  spider-like 
reaches  extending  up  and  down  the  shore  and  backward  to  the  mountains.  One  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  these  outer  districts  is  Botafogo,  with  its  well  built  aristocratic  houses 
and  its  crowning  glory  of  stately  tropical  gardens,  with  avenues  of  royal  palms,  gorgeous 
flowering  shrubs  and  dense,  dark  foliaged  trees.  Beyond  this  is  the  Botanic  Garden,  a 
most  beautiful  spot  laid  out  in  shady  walks,  groves  of  tropical  trees,  green  lawns  and  a 
noble  avenue  of  royal  palms,  a  hundred  feet  high.  During  the  fine  afternoons  hundreds 
of  people  come  here  from  the  city  for  a  few  hours'  pleasure,  part  of  which  is  the  ride  out 
in  the  open  horse-cars — mule  cars  more  properly  speaking.  The  route  between  the 
Gardens  and  the  center  of  the  city  is  through  a  succession  of  lovely  scenes,  for  the 
environs  of  Rio  abound  in  picturesque  valleys  and  hillsides,  pierced  by  beautiful  roads 
and  by-paths.  The  most  fashionable  street  in  the  Brazilian  capital  is  the  Rua  do  Ouvi- 
dor.  It  is  only  a  narrow  alley  too  ;  but  here  are  the  best  retail  shops  with  brilliant  and 
tastefully  arranged  windows,  coffee  rooms  opening  on  the  street,  and  some  poor  pic- 
ture galleries.  It  is  always  lively  and  pleasant  here,  and  in  the  evening  it  is  extremely  gay 
with  crowds  of  handsomely  dressed  Brazilian  gentry.  During  carnival-time  and  when 
festivals  are  held,  it  is  thronged  with  people,  filling  sidewalks  and  roadway  alike,  while 


Rio  de  Janeiro.  329 

arches  of  gas  jets  over  head,  light  it  up  like  a  great  hall  or  pavilion.  The  new  town  is 
west  of  the  old,  and  separated  from  it  by  the  Campo  de  Santa  Anna,  an  immense  square 
or  park,  on  different  parts  of  which  stands  an  extensive  barrack,  the  town  hall,  the 
national  museum,  the  palace  of  the  senate,  the  foreign  office,  a  large  opera  house,  and 
other  buildings  for  public  or  government  uses.  The  population  of  Rio  is  about  three 
hundred  thousand,  that  is,  somewhat  larger  than  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  There  is  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  really  good  people  in  the  capital.  The  largest  class  have  many 
vices  and  most  of  them  are  too  poor  to  be  idle  and  too  proud  to  work  ;  they  feel  that 
there  is  a  broad  gulf  between  them  and  the  working  folks,  as  there  is  between  the  free 
laborers  and  the  fourth  and  lowest  class,  the  slaves.  One  of  the  main  business  streets  is 
the  Rua  Primeiro  de  Marco,  running  parallel  to  the  water  front,  about  the  only  wide  and 
pleasant  thoroughfare  in  the  old  part  of  the'  town,  where  stand  row  after  row  of  tall 
plain  warehouses  and  offices,  among  the  buildings  of  the  new  post-office,  the  Agricul- 
tural Hall  and  a  few  notable  churches.  It  is  thronged  with  a  crowd  of  people  taking  life 
so  leisurely,  that  a  bustling,  newly  landed  New  Yorker  could  scarcely  believe  it  to  be  the 
center  of  wholesale  trade,  filled  with  the  principal  banking  and  commission  houses  of  the 
largest  city  in  South  America.  The  commission  and  importing  business  in  the  great 
counting  houses  here  is  largely  carried  on  by  English  and  German  firms  ;  there  are  some 
Brazilian  and  a  few  French  and  American  houses. 

Only  a  few  carts  and  carriages  are  seen  ;  most  of  the  lighter  carting  is  done  on  the 
heads  of  negro  porters,  while  the  heavy  burdens,  like  bags  of  coffee  or  grain,  are  carried 
through  the  streets  on  platform  cars  drawn  on  tracks  by  mules.  At  the  street  corners 
there  are  groups  of  laborers  gathered  round  a  kiosque — a  gayly-painted  pagoda-like  build- 
ing— wherein  they  get  their  coffee  and  lunch,  and  find  plenty  of  tables  to  sit  at  and  talk. 
Lottery  tickets  are  sold  in  the  kiosques  too,  and  the  chances  of  success  with  the  tickets 
displayed  make  up  a  large  part  of  the  conversation.  This  is  the  great  curse  of  Brazil. 
By  the  water  side,  not  far  from  the  banking  streets,  is  the  large,  square  building  of  the 
market.  In  one  small  square  on  the  land  side  there  is  a  gathering  of  noisy  fruit  women, 
and  on  the  bay  side,  where  immense  docks  or  basins  are  walled  in,  nearly  all  the  market- 
boatmen  of  Rio  unload  their  cargoes  of  fish  and  vegetables  ;  a  strange,  dense,  and  busy 
crowd  they  make  in  the  mornings,  these  black-bearded  Portuguese  mulattoes,  on  the 
wharves  and  in  their  broad,  heavy  flat-bottomed  boats.  The  main  part  of  the  market  is 
built  much  like  those  of  New  York,  with  stalls  and  passages.  Besides  these  there  is  a 
court,  with  hucksters  walking  through,  and  stalls  on  either  side,  and  stands  covered  with 
fish  or  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  in  the  middle,  attended  by  turbaned  negro  women, 
sitting  under  huge  white  umbrellas.  The  market  is  the  center  of  the  huckster  life  of  Rio, 
which  spreads  through  all  its  streets,  and  forms  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  city.  Be- 
sides the  market  men  there  are  traveling  cloth  merchants,  rapping  their  jointed  yard- 
sticks, candy-boys,  newsboys,  cake-women,  tinkers,  who  beat  on  one  of  their  pans  with 


330  Cities  of  the  World. 

an  iron  rod  as  they  pass  along,  and  followers  of  almost  every  calling,  for  the  Braziliar 
women  do  not  like  to  go  out  shopping  or  marketing.  The  great  warehouses  and  docks 
lie  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  where  the  streets  are  narrow  and  not  always  over' 
clean.  Here  during  the  sickly  season  the  yellow  fever  rages  cruelly.  It  begins  gener 
ally  with  the  boatmen  in  January,  and,  little  by  little,  spreads  over  the  whole  city  as  the 
warm  and  oppressive  weather  of  March  and  April  comes  on.  But  from  June  or  Julj 
until  January  Brazil  is  usually  quite  free  from  the  scourge  ;  and  when  the  draining  anc 
proper  cleaning  are  enforced  all  the  danger  may  be  done  away  with.  The  old  buildings 
some  of  which  have  stood  for  two  centuries,  in  these  narrow,  dirty  streets,  make  then 
very  interesting.  The  Portuguese  colonists  built  solidly  of  stone  and  cement,  and  sc 
their  tile  roofs,  and  the  stout  walls,  covered  with  black  mold  now  instead  of  whitewash 
are  as  good  as  ever.  Somber  and  venerable,  they  look  down  nowadays  on  horse-cars  anc 
crowds  of  people  bearing  no  trace  in  dress  or  in  manners  of  the  old  colonial  days  ;  bu 
even  they  are  adapted  to  nineteenth  century  uses,  for  the  ground  floors  of  some  of  th< 
most  stately  of  them  make  very  good  coffee-packing  establishments.  Further  on  then 
are  the  new  Pedro  Segundo  docks,  where  all  except  very  heavy  draught  ships  take  ir 
cargo  from  the  wharfs.  Like  nearly  all  the  public  works  in  Brazil,  these  are  handsomely 
ornamented,  and  are  very  popular  with  shippers.  The  trade  and  commerce  of  Rio  ar< 
great  now,  and  are  increasing  year  by  year.  The  chief  export  is  coffee  ;  after  that  com< 
gold,  diamonds,  tobacco,  hides,  cotton,  timber  and  other  things  far  exceeding  the  valu< 
of  imports,  which  are  mainly  silk,  linen,  cotton,  and  woolen  goods.  European  steam 
ships  arrive  and  leave  almost  daily,  while  the  commerce  with  other  foreign  and  do 
mestic  ports  is  also  extensive.  In  all  the  many  squares  of  the  modern  part  of  th< 
capital  there  are  fine  fountains  of  pure  water,  brought  by  a  splendid  aqueduct  fron 
the  springs  on  and  around  Mount  Corcovado.  For  two  or  three  miles,  where  thi: 
aqueduct  runs  along  the  mountain  side,  the  government  has  built  a  carriage-road 
which  is  shady,  quiet,  and  beautiful,  a  favorite  strolling  place.  Here  and  ther< 
are  glimpses  of  the  bay  and  the  city  below.  The  peak  of  Corcovado  is  two  points  will 
a  bridge  between  them  and  low  parapet  walls  from  which  there  is  a  view  worth  all  th< 
work  of  climbing  up.  The  city  and  bay  lie  on  one  side  of  the  forest-covered  base  of  th< 
mountain  ;  on  the  other,  the  Botanic  Garden,  with  the  picturesque  Rodrigo  de  Freita. 
lake  before  it  ;  in  front  is  the  pretty  suburb  of  Botafogo,  built  along  the  shores  of  one  o 
the  side  bays  opening  into  the  harbor,  and  beyond  is  the  towering  cone  of  Sugarloaf,  it 
twelve  hundred  feet  of  rock  standing  like  a  sentinel  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  a  view  tha 
the  most  unenthusiastic  travelers  have  declared  to  have  but  two  rivals  in  the  world 
Constantinople  and  San  Francisco. 

According  to  size,  the  second  capital  in  South  America  is  Buenos  Ayres,  of  thi 
Argentine  Republic.  It  stands  on  La  Plata  river,  which  even  here,  a  hundred  and  fift] 
miles  from  the  sea,  is  thirty-six  miles  across.  The  city  is  divided  by  granite  pave( 


Lima.  331 

streets  into  great  blocks,  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  square.  Horse-car  lines  run 
in  every  direction.  The  principal  buildings  are  the  cathedral  and  churches  belonging  to 
it,  some  Protestant  churches,  benevolent  institutions,  a  military  college  and  university. 
The  importance  of  Buenos  Ayres  comes  mainly  from  a  very  extensive  inland  trade 
especially  with  Chili.  It  is  unfortunately  situated,  with  a  harbor  exposed  to  bad  tides 
and  winds,  and  in  a  country  wanting  timber  and  stones.  Its  largest  industries  are  cigar 
making,  carpet  weaving,  and  the  manufacture  of  furniture  and  boots  and  shoes.  The 
exports  and  imports  are  much  the  same  as  those  of  Rio  ;  it  has  also  about  the  same 
number  of  people  as  the  Brazilian  capital,  fully  one-third  of  them  being  Europeans, 
principally  Spanish,  Italian,  French,  and  British. 

The  Chilian  capital  is  Santiago,  a  squarely  laid  out  city  with  about  a  hundred  and 
seventy-five  thousand. people.  The  city  stands  on  a  broad  plain  at  the  western  base  of 
the  Andes,  eighteen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  Its  climate  is  delightful,  and  its  sur- 
roundings beautiful  and  productive.  Toward  the  mountains  the  scenery  is  most  magnifi- 
cent, and  round  about  are  broad  acres  covered  with  growing  vines,  figs  and  melons. 
The  houses,  until  recently,  were  always  built  low  around  a  court  or  garden,  in  the  best 
way  possible  to  protect  the  inhabitants  from  the  constantly  recurring  earthquakes  ;  but 
some  of  the  newer  buildings  are  costly  edifices,  two,  three,  and  four  stories  high,  with 
beautiful  facades  overlooking  the  streets.  Among  the  handsomest  buildings  are  the 
mint  ;  part  of  this  is  one  of  the  President's  palaces,  while  other  apartments  are  devoted 
to  public  offices.  The  Cathedral  stands  on  one  side  of  the  Great  Square,  and  at  some 
distance  away  are  the  university,  library  and  museum,  and  several  very  fine  schools. 
The  life  of  the  capital  is  best  seen  on  the  Alameda,  a  promenade  shaded  with  poplars, 
and  cooled  by  two  streams  of  running  water.  Santiago  is  the  export  market  for  the 
mineral  wealth  of  Chili,  and  receives  in  exchange  for  its  gold,  silver  and  lead,  manufac- 
tured goods,  wines  and  spirits  for  the  most  part.  Its  chief  trade  is  with  Valparaiso, 
which  is  ninety  miles  away  by  the  way  of  the  Valparaiso  and  Santiago  railway.  The 
handsomest  city  of  South  America  is  Lima,  capital  of  the  Republic  of  Peru.  One  of 
the  noblest  thoroughfares  on  the  continent  is  the  Alameda,  running  from  the  capital  to 
its  port,  Callao,  which  is  on  the  Pacific  coast,  six  miles  away.  At  a  distance,  the  spires 
and  domes  glitter  in  the  sun,  and  the  Moorish  looking  architecture  is  very  striking  and 
attractive.  Most  all  the  public  buildings  are  magnificent ;  the  dwellings  and  other 
houses  are  low  and  irregular,  but  give  variety  to  the  long  regular  streets.  The  principal 
business  locality  is  the  Plaza  Mayor,  or  great  square.  It  has  a  fine  fountain  in  the 
center  and  is  overlooked  by  the  President's  palace,  the  Cathedral,  the  Archbishop's 
palace,  and,  on  the  south,  the  old  palace  of  Pizarro  stands  at  right  angles  with  the  Town 
Hall.  On  one  of  the  alamedas,  or  avenues,  there  is  an  immense  amphitheater  for  bull 
fighting ;  for  Lima  was  founded  by  the  Spaniards,  and  has  many  of  their  national  traits. 
The  city  is  shaped  like  a  triangle,  with  its  longest  side  extending  along  the  bank  of  the 


33 2  Cities  of  the   World. 

river  Rimac.  Every  morning  the  city  streets  are  flooded  with  a  stream  of  water,  which 
is  turned  on  to  carry  away  what  has  collected  the  day  before.  Besides  this  cleans 
ing  there  are  quantities  of  buzzards  that  finish  the  scavenger  work  of  the  Peruviar 
capital,  and  keep  it  healthful  and  pleasant.  Many  of  the  monasteries  and  convents 
which  once  were  very  numerous,  have  been  suppressed  ;  but  the  convent  of  Sar 
Francisco  is  still  actively  devoted  to  the  church.  The  University  of  Lima,  which  i: 
in  a  rather  neglected  condition  now,  was  the  first  great  educational  institution  in  the  new 
world  ;  it  has  a  valuable  library,  and  is  still  attended  by  Peruvian  and  other  South 
American  students.  The  trade  of  the  city  is  exporting  and  importing  for  the  coasi 
people,  with  some  interior  trade.  The  business  of  the  capital  is.  in  a  most  unsettlec 
condition  now  from  the  recent  troubles  that  have  shaken  the  whole  state  to  its  founda> 
tions. 


CANADA. 

ALMOST  all  the  country  of  America  north  of  the  United  States,  is  the  Dominion  a 
Canada,  belonging  to  Great  Britain.  This  is  a  little  less  in  size  than  our  own  posses- 
sions, but  contains  about  one-twelfth  as  many  people.  The  largest  city  is  Montreal  on  an 
island  in  the  St.  Lawrence  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ottawa.  It  has  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  people,  or  about  as  many  as  Louisville,  Kentucky.  It  is  finely  situated, 
with  its  stately  architecture  surrounded  by  the  gleaming  river,  and  standing  out  against 


MONTREAL. 

the  green  of  maples  and  elms  on  the  Royal  Mount,  with  the  Victoria  Tubular  Bridge 
spanning  the  great  distance  to  the  further  bank.  Crowds  of  shipping  lie  along  the  heavily- 
built  stone  wharves.  Steamers  nearly  six  thousand  tons  in  burden  are  there,  and  fleets  of 
three  masted  sailing  vessels.  The  most  prominent  buildings  on  shore  are  the  Catholic 
Cathedral,  with  its  two  tall  square  towers,  and  a  great  market  and  customs-buildings — a 
minor  Somerset  House  to  Londoners.  The  Cathedral  is  the  finest  church  on  the 


334 


Cities  of  the   World. 


American  continent.  It  is  built  in  the  Gothic  style  with  six  towers,  the  highest  three  being 
on  the  main  front.  It  comprises  seven  chapels  and  nine  aisles,  and  is  large  enough  to  hold 
between  six  and  seven  thousand  people.  There  are  also  several  other  Roman  Catholic 
churches  belonging  to  the  order  of  St.  Sulpice.  Montreal  was  founded  chiefly  by  mem- 
bers of  this  order,  who  still  hold  possession  of  the  island.  Adjoining  the  Cathedral  is 
the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  and  several  of  the  largest  convents  in  the  world  are  seen  in. 


SECTION    OF    THE    VICTORIA    BRIDGE. 

various  parts  of  the  city.  The  Catholic  church  has  long  owned  a  great  deal  of  the 
property  here,  which  has  increased  in  value  so  vastly  that  through  it  the  church  has 
become  enormously  wealthy.  The  new  Church  of  England  Cathedral  and  the  Scotch 
church  of  St.  Andrew  are  also  fine  structures,  but  comparatively  small.  As  almost  all 
the  buildings  are  of  gray  limestone  the  streets  have  a  substantial  and  stately  appearance, 
which,  combined  with  the  green  of  the  trees,  make  the  city  very  attractive.  Near  the 
waterside  the  thoroughfares  are  filled  with  busy  crowds  of  active,  energetic  Canadians, 


Montreal. 


335 


continually  moving  in  one  direction  or  another.  Almost  all  the  business  seems  to  be 
transacted  in  this  quarter.  Here  lie  vessels  from  almost  every  great  foreign  port,  from 
the  United  States  and  South  America.  Here  negotiations  are  made  and  trade  carried  on 
extending  to  the  large  Canadian  lumber  districts,  to  the  produce  and  manufacturing 
centers  of  the  whole  Dominion,  and  many  places  in  the  United  States.  The  city  is 
admirably  situated  as  to  rivers,  canals  and  railways,  and  is  fast  becoming  of  great  commer- 
cial importance.  From  the  beginning  of  December  to  about  the  middle  of  April  the 


CANADIAN    AMUSEMENTS. 

harbor  is  closed  by  ice  ;  and  during  that  time  ocean  steamers  put  in  at  Portland,  Maine, 
and  goods  are  shipped  from  there  to  Montreal  by  the  Grand  Trunk  railway.  In  the 
other  quarters  the  avenues  are  planted  with  trees  ;  pleasure  grounds,  and  places  of 
entertainment  are  seen  ;  and  the  buildings  and  surrounding  grounds  are  sometimes 
handsomely  adorned.  The  McGill  University  is  one  of  the  chief  seats  of  learning  in 
the  country.  The  Museum  has  a  collection  of  implements,  weapons  and  carved  pipes 
of  the  old  North  American  Indians,  and  specimens  of  all  that  is  remarkable  in  the 
geology  of  Canada. 

The  great  pleasure  season  of  the  year  is  in  winter.     Then  every  thing  out  of  doors  is 


336  Cities  of  the   World. 

covered  with  snow  ;  great  tobogganing  hills  are  set  up  for  coasting.  Sledges,  snow  shoes, 
and  skates  are  brought  out.  The  entire  city  puts  on  its  holiday  appearance,  and  thou- 
sands of  strangers  come  to  enjoy  the  sports,  which  reach  their  height  with  the  opening 
of  the  Carnival.  Then  the  great  ice  palace  is  built  and  all  the  members  of  the  snow 
shoe  clubs,  clad  in  colored  blanket  coats,  blue  "  Turque  "  caps,  and  moccasins,  and 
other  societies  of  the  province  are  mustered  in  the  capital.  The  stores  put  out  their 
gayest  decorations  and  show  their  richest  stock  ;  every  spare  room,  from  those  of  the 
great  hotels  to  the  modest  little  private  house,  is  rented,  while  nearly  all  kinds  of 
business  foreign  to  the  Carnival  is  partially  or  wholly  suspended.  In  and  around  the 
palace  the  most  picturesque  and  charming  fetes  are  held  every  evening  ;  processions  oi 
torch-bearing  snow  shoers  and  militia  are  held  ;  public  balls  and  private  parties  are  given, 
excursions  are  made  up,  and  for  about  one  week  every  kind  of  winter  enjoyment 
imaginable, — sleighing,  tobogganing  down  steep  hills  at  a  take-your-breath-away  rate  ol 
speed,  curling,  skating,  and  countless  others — are  kept  up  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 
Then  the  wonderful,  fairy-like  palace,  with  towers,  battlements  and  glittering  walls, 
inclosing  immense  corridors  and  stately  halls  built  of  ice  blocks  and  illuminated  with  a  thou- 
sand lights  of  various  colors,  is  stormed  and  captured,  and  after  one  more  ball,  the  mosl 
brilliant  of  the  season,  the  Carnival  is  over.  Toronto,  the  second  city  of  the  Dominion, 
is  the  capital  of  Ontario.  This  is  the  large  province  which  lies  across  the  lakes  from 
New  York,  and  into  which  we  go  when  visiting  Niagara  Falls.  Toronto  is  nearly  hall 
the  size  of  Montreal  in  population  ;  it  lies  low  and  flat  on  a  spacious'  inlet  of  Lake 
Ontario  called  Toronto  Bay.  The  largest  vessels  on  the  lakes  can  come  in  here  past 
the  fort,  and,  some  of  them,  up  to  the  quays.  In  summer  it  is  a  gay  and  beautiful  sight 
when  the  fleet  of  the  yacht  club  is  out,  or  the  cutters  and  schooners  of  Toronto  and 
Hamilton  have  the  regattas,  which  bring  out  hundreds  of  people  to  watch  the  contests. 
There  are  many  fine  buildings  and  broad  handsome  streets  in  Toronto  ;  it  is  well  paved 
and  lighted  and  carefully  kept ;  most  of  the  city  is  built  up  with  brick  ;  but  there  are 
churches  and  colleges,  public  halls  and  the  stately  Law  Courts  in  stone.  The  highest 
quarter  is  the  Queen's  Park,  on  the  west,  reached  from  King  street — the  greatest  and 
longest  thoroughfare  of  the  city — by  a  double  avenue.  The  Park  is  prettily  wooded,  and 
contains  some  handsome  private  dwellings,  the  observatory,  and  the  university.  Toronto 
is'the  fountain-head  of  the  Canadian  school  system,  and  has,  beside  Trinity,  Knox  and 
Upper  Colleges,  many  very  fine  common  and  normal  schools.  The  University  Park,  with 
its  beautiful  monument  to  the  volunteers  who  fell  at  Ridgeway  and  the  Horticultural 
garden,  is  a  favorite  resort  for  all  the  people  of  the  city.  Miss  Rye's  Home  for  friendless 
little  street  children  is  one  of  the  most  noted  places,  as  it  is  one  of  the  grandest  benevo- 
lent works  near  Toronto. 

Every  year  in  September  the  great  provincial  fair  of  Ontario  is  held  here.      This  is 
the  best  time  to  see  the  people  and  what  they  do.  Every  thing  belonging  to  education  and 


Quebec. 


337 


schools  has  one  of  the  chief  places,  and  there  are  countless  exhibits  of  beautiful  woods 
and  wood-work,  of  books,  magazines  and  papers,  of  all  kinds  of  household  articles,  from 
fine  soap  to  expensive  furniture,  and  nearly  every  other  product  and  manufacture  of  the 
city  and  the  province. 

The  chief  fortress  of  Canada,  and  the  only  walled  city  in  the  American 
continent  is  Quebec.  Although  it  has  only  about  sixty  thousand  people,  as  many 
as  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  it  is  an  important  city,  with  railroad  connection 
with  all  the  cities  in  the  United  States.  After  Montreal,  it  has  the  largest  com- 


QUEBEC. 

merce  in  the  Dominion,  the  principal  trade  being  in  lumber,  grain  and  ships.  There  are 
large  ship-yards  where  vessels,  noted  for  beauty  and  strength,  are  made  ;  and  immense 
rafts  of  logs  are  always  moored  along  the  shore  below  the  city.  The  harbor  is  fine, 
and  so  deep  that  the  largest  vessels  can  come  close  up  to  the  wharves.  Quebec  is  divided 
into  two  parts  ;  the  lower  town  is  on  a  plain  along  the  shore,  and  has  many  narrow 
crooked  streets  lined  with  quaint  old  buildings.  The  upper  town  is  on  a  steep  promon- 
tory about  three  hundred  feet  from  the  river.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  wall,  and  there  is  a 
great  citadel  overlooking  the  city,  which,  with  the  other  forts,  has  given  Quebec  the  name 
of  the  Gibraltar  of  America.  There  are  fine  buildings  and  public  institutions  here;  and 
the  people,  two-thirds  of  whom  are  French  Canadians,  enjoy  one  of  the  finest  promenades 
in  the  world,  and  live  in  full  view  of  some  of  the  most  picturesque  scenery  in  the  Queen's 
possessions.  The  Canadian  capital  is  Ottawa,  a  minor  city,  on  the  banks  of  a  broad 
tributary  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  Houses  of  Parliament,  with  their  towers  and  high 


338 


Cities  of  the   World. 


pitched  roofs,  are  built  on  a  cliff  jutting  into  the  stream.  At  the  western  side  of  the  city 
the  Ottawa  rushes  over  a  precipice  and  forms  the  famous  Chaudiere  Falls,  and  at  the 
north-east  the  Rideau  falls  into  the  Ottawa  in  two  other  cataracts.  A  suspension  bridge 
hangs  over  Chaudiere  Falls,  connecting  Upper  and  Lower  Canada.  The  principal  trade 


STREET    IN    QUEBEC. 


of  the  capital  is  in  immense  quantities  of  sawed  lumber,  and  some  manufactures  from 
other  mills,  also  run  by  the  immense  water  power  furnished  by  the  rivers.  Rideau  Hall, 
the  house  of  the  Governor-General,  is  at  New  Edinburgh,  near  the  city.  Ottawa  is  about 
the  size  of  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  its  population  being  thirty  thousand. 


MEXICO. 

r  I  ""HE  capital  of  Mexico,  our  country's  nearest  neighbor  and  sister  republic,  is 
Mexico.  It  is  beautifully  situated  in  the  center  of  a  great  table-land  about  mid- 
way between  the  Gulf  and  the  Pacific.  The  plateau  is  surrounded  by  snow-capped 
mountains,  and  studded  with  five  lakes,  near  the  largest  of  which  lies  the  city.  The 
heart  of  the  capital  is  the  Grand  Plaza,  or  Great  Square,  which  measures  about  a  thou- 
sand feet  each  way.  It  is  the  finest  open  place  in  America,  and  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
world,  with  a  pretty  tropical  garden  in  the  center  and  noble  buildings  ranging  in  lofty 
stories  on  all  sides.  On  the  south  is  the  President's  palace,  an  extensive  pile  that  is 
palace,  garrisoned  castle,  and  hall  of  state.  Here  are  kept  the  archives  of  the  govern- 
ment and  supplies  in  case  of  siege.  The  state  apartments  take  up  an  immense  wing,  the 
Hall  of  Embassadors  alone  being  large  enough  for  a  palace;  it  is  a  picture  gallery  too, 
lined  with  portraits  of  Mexican  grandees,  among  which  Bolivar  and  Washington  are 
given  a  place  as  successful  American  revolutionists.  Across  the  long  stretch  of  the 
Plaza,  opposite  the  palace,  is  a  long  arcade,  wide  and  shaded,  and  full  of  shops  of  every 
description.  Here  are  silversmiths  at  work  or  selling  their  famous  filigree;  feather-work 
shops;  toys  of  all  kinds;  earthen  trinkets;  hat  stores  full  of  broad  sombreros  and  rebosas, 
the  brown  and  blue  mantles,  such  as  you  see  over  the  head  and  neck  of  every  working 
woman  who  passes  by.  Here  are  coffee-stands  and  book-stalls  and  all  sorts  of  trade 
and  traffic,  opening  off  of  the  broad  walks,  filled  with  a  Mexican  crowd. 

On  the  left  of  the  palace,  there  are  plain,  strong-looking  lines  of  barracks,  and  on 
its  right,  stands  the  Moorish-looking  cathedral.  It  stands  on  a  large  platform  several 
feet  higher  than  the  pavement  of  the  Plaza,  a  grand  and  imposing  building,  which  was 
raised  on  the  ruins  of  the  great  teocalli,  the  old  Aztec  temple  to  the  god  Mixitli.  The 
circular  calendar  stone  covered  with  Aztec  hieroglyphics,  representing  the  months  of 
the  year,  is  preserved  in  the  corner  of  the  building.  The  inside  of  the  cathedral  is 
grand  but  not  gloomy.  It  is  partitioned  off  for  different  classes  of  people.  The  altar  is  a 
gorgeous  piece  of  marble  sculpture  and  precious  stones,  and  some  of  the  carving,  metal 
work  in  the  screens,  and  other  ornamentation,  set  with  gems,  is  very  beautiful.  The 


340 


Cities  of  the  World. 


open  space  in  front  of  the  cathedral  is  full  of  people  selling  their  wares,  especially  Sabbath 
mornings.  Lottery  ticket  sellers,  usually  old  men  and  women,  are  more  numerous  than 
any  other  venders;  and  among  them  are  match-boys,  ice-cream  sellers,  picture  venders, 
and  scores  of  others  offering  bargains  to  the  passers  by,  or  the  worshipers  as  they  go 
toward  or  leave  the  church. 

The  streets  running  northward  from  the  Plaza  are  the  chief  thoroughfares  of  the  city. 
Each  block  is  known  by  a  different  name.      The  first  is  called  the  Street  of  the  Silver- 


CITY    OF   MEXICO. 

smiths;  now  there  are  some  few  of  the  craft,  once  very  numerous  here,  who  have  their 
forge  and  work  their  silver  in  plain  view  of  the  passers  by.  But  jewelry  and  cigar  shops 
and  dry  goods  stores  have  crowded  out  the  silver  workers.  Further  along  stands  a  church 
and  some  other  of  the  old  religious  buildings,  now  converted  into  every-day  use.  The 
fifty-year  old  palace  of  Iturbide,  too,  is  now  a  hotel,  the  stateliest  private  building  in 
Mexico,  it  is  said,  with  its  fine  carved  front,  facing  the  President's  dwelling.  Further 
on  is  a  porcelain-faced  house  of  quaint  Dutch  tiles,  while  above  and  below  it  are  the 


Mexico.  341 

residences  of  the  wealthy  and  aristocratic  of  the  city.  Beyond  is  the  public  park, 
the  Alameda, — forty  acres  of  winding  paths,  fenced  off  from  plots  of  shrubs  or  flowers, 
with  fountains  encircled  by  stone  seats.  The  eastern  side  of  the  Alameda  is  the  street 
of  San  Cosme,  the  broadest  and  liveliest  thoroughfare  in  Mexico.  It  has  another  interest, 
too,  than  the  people.  It  is  the  road  over  which  Cortez  tried  to  escape  on  that  night  which 
has  passed  into  history  as  the  Trieste  Noche,  or  saddest  of  nights.  It  passes  by  the 
aqueduct  of  San  Cosme',  that  extends  toward  the  city  in  solemn  gray  arches,  moss-grown 
and  majestic.  Swiftly  running  horse  cars,  loaded  donkeys,  cavaliers,  men  and  women 
promenading  or  bearing  burdens  make  the  thickest  and  the  busiest  throng  in  Mexico, 
beside  this  solemn  old  arcade.  A  mile  or  so  out,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  English  and 
American  cemeteries,  the  aqueduct  suddenly  turns  westward  toward  Chapultepec;  not 
far  from  here  is  the  favorite  site  for  gentlemen's  villas,  with  most  lovely  surroundings. 
The  country  is  full  of  parks,  ponds,  groves,  pleasant  walks,  flower  beds,  rare  trees  and 
tropical  plants.  San  Cosme  also  ends  in  the  Plaza,  in  the  heart  of  the  city;  but  it 
contains  one  greater  attaction  than  the  busy  square,  in  the  Tivoli  Gardens,  which  surpass 
many  of  the  most  celebrated  pleasure  grounds  in  Europe.  Here  in  the  midst  of  de- 
lightful scenery,  the  gentry  breakfast  between  twelve  o'clock  and  four.  Tables  are  ar- 
ranged in  the  most  charming  and  unlooked-for  places:  they  are  in  quaint  looking  boxes 
high  in  the  tree-tops,  in  sequestered  arbors,  in  open  plots;  everywhere  for  variety  or 
differing  tastes.  All  that  is  good  to  eat  or  drink  in  the  country  is  served  here,  and  the 
music  is  delightful.  One  road  from  the  Tivoli  leads  to  the  square  where  the  burnings 
of  the  Inquisition  took  place.  The  Inquisition  building  is  used  for  the  custom-house 
now;  a  great  fountain  is  in  the  center  of  the  road,  and  a  church  stands  across  the  way. 
Beside  the  beautiful  Alameda,  Mexico  has  remarkably  long  and  handsome  paseos,  or 
raised  paved  roads,  planted  with  double  rows  of  trees,  and  extending  far  into  the  country 
from  every  quarter  of  the  city.  The  water  gardens,  which  were  a  celebrated  attraction  in 
ancient  days,  are  not  floating  nowadays,  although  there  are  a  few  of  them  still  kept  in 
luxurious  beauty  in  the  midst  of  the  swamps,  which  the  modern  Mexicans  have  allowed 
to  spread  around  the  lakes.  The  trade  here  is  chiefly  transit  business,  although  there 
is  a  considerable  quantity  of  manufactured  goods  imported,  and  some  home  manufact- 
ures shipped  in  exchange.  Superior  cigars  are  made  in  the  capital,  beside  gold  lace, 
hats,  carriages,  saddlery  and  some  other  things;  these,  with  gold  and  silver  and  some 
of  the  valuable  products  of  the  plateau,  are  carried  on  mules,  usually  to  Vera  Cruz  and 
other  ports,  for  foreign  shipment. 


THE    UNITED   STATES. 

metropolis  of  the  United  States  and  the  greatest  city  of  the  Americas  is  New 
York.    All  foreign  commerce,  all  domestic  trade,  all  travelers  from  abroad  or  tourists 
at  home,  some  of  all  that  is  good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  find  their  way  sooner  or  later  to 
the  water-bound  city  of  the  Empire  State.     Every  railroad  on  the  continent  is  connected 


THE    CITY    HALL. 


with  it;  the  main  canals  and  natural  water-ways  tend  toward  it,  while  the  great  Atlantic 
itself  reaches  out  a  strong,  safe  arm  to  the  very  steps  of  the  Custom  House.  It  has  beer 
said  that  no  country  in  the  world  can  boast  of  such  a  harbor,  where  the  turbulence  ol 
the  sea  is  shut  out  by  a  bar  that  admits  the  largest  vessels  at  high  tide.  Its  circle  01 


344 


Cities  of  the  World. 


hills  encloses  a  basin  large  enough  to  shelter  all  the  fleets  of  the  world,  without 
danger  from  shifting  shoals,  or  strong  treacherous  currents;  while  from  the  Fire  Island 
light  or  the  first  sight  of  land,  the  beacon  lights  and  buoys  are  so  numerous  and  distinct, 
that  any  accident  other  than  one  vessel  colliding  with  another  is  almost  unknown.  The 
approach  to  the  great  city  is  beautiful  as  well  as  safe  and  commodious.  The  Highlands 
of  Navesink,  with  their  tall  lighthouse  towers,  attract  the  visitor's  eye  by  day  or  night; 


BARGE    OFFICE,  BATTERY,  NEW    YORK    CITY. 

above  them  the  long  point  of  Sandy  Hook  runs  out  to  the  north,  with  its  lighthouse, 
a  white  monument  by  day,  and  a  flashing  light  by  night;  opposite  this  is  the  Coney 
Island  shore,  leaving  a  broad  entrance  to  the  Lower  Bay,  with  the  quiet,  shining  waters 
of  Raritan  Bay  opening  upon  it  on  the  west.  On  a  sunny  day  this  sparkling  bay  on  the 
left,  and  the  long  sandy  stretch  of  Coney  Island  with  its  great  pavilions  and  piers  on  the 


New  York. 


345 


right,  make  a  very  pleasant  first  impression.  But  the  scene  grows  fairer  as  you  cross 
the  Lower  Bay;  now  and  then  an  island  is  passed,  and  above  Raritan,  the  wooded  hills 
of  Staten  Island  curve  out  to  meet  the  green  bluffs  of  Long  Island,  forming  the  pretty 
strait  called  the  Narrows.  Just  above  the  forts 
the  shores  retreat,  and  New  York  Bay  comes  full 
in  view.  The  Staten  Island  heights  are  crowned 
with  scattered  villas  and  suburban  villages;  the 
green  of  the  Long  Island  shore  is  soon  broken 
by  the  lines  of  Brooklyn  wharves  and  docks, 
which  extend  for  miles  along  the  whole  length 
of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Harbor,  up  the 
East  River  to  Long  Island  City,  several  miles 
beyond.  To  the  left  the  shore  of  Staten  Island 
ends  at  an  angle,  and  the  broad  Kill  von  Kull, 
connecting  the  Harbor  with  Newark  Bay,  beyond, 
lies  between  the  island  and  a  long  factory-built 
and  barge-lined  peninsula  of  New  Jersey.  This 
runs  out  from  Jersey  City,  whose  southerly  point 
is  just  opposite  that  of  New  York  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hudson  River  ;  near  the  head  of  the 
Harbor  there  are  several  small  islands,  the  most 
notable  of  these,  although  not  the  largest,  being 
Bedloe's,  the  site  of  Bartholdi's  colossal  statue 
of  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,  the  gift  of 
the  French  to  the  American  people.  From  Bed- 
loe's Island  the  full  harbor  view  of  New  York 
lies  clear  and  distinct.  On  the  blue  waters  ride 
ships  from  every  large  European  port;  sloops, 
schooners,  and  square  rigged  vessels  from  far 
and  near;  harbor  barges,  great  excursion  boats 
and  Sound  steamers  with  their  pointed  prows, 
double  and  triple  tiers  of  decks,  and  immense 
side  wheels;  bulky,  low  ferry-boats,  trim  yachts 
with  their  snow-white  sails  and  yellow  masts; 
black  hulled,  black  rigged  government  vessels; 
with  puffing  little  tugs  steaming  about  from 
one  point  to  another,  sometimes  darting  away  like  a  messenger  in  hot  haste,  some- 
times laboriously  dragging  a  trail  of  four  or  five  heavily  laden  scows  or  train  boats,  or 
towing  a  disabled  vessel  into  port.  Amongst  all  these,  especially  as  you  near  the  shore. 


BARTHOLDI  S    STATUE. 


346  Cities  of  the  World 

there  are  countless  row-boats  to  be  seen,  with  brawny  armed  boatmen  sending  them 
over  the  swells  or  under  the  lee  of  a  ship  with  perfect  ease  and  indifference  to  any  sort 
of  danger.  The  rounding  point  that  lies  out  between  the  Hudson  and  Jersey  City  on 
the  west,  and  Brooklyn  and  the  East  River,  spanned  by  the  great  suspension  bridge,  on 
the  east,  is  Battery  Park.  To  the  east  rise  the  green  walls  and  red  sheds  of  the  Barge 
Office  of  the  New  York  Custom  House,  to  the  west  is  the  round,  flat  roof  of  Castle  Gar- 
den, with  the  green  tree-planted  park,  and  the  broad  promenade  above  the  river  wall, 
between.  From  here,  on  the  banks  of  both  rivers  extend  wharves  and  docks,  densely 
crowded  with  shipping;  great  covered  piers  filled  with  goods,  which  laborers  of  every 
nationality  are  constantly  transferring  to  or  from  the  vessels  lying  along  the  sides;  and 
ferry-boat  slips,  where  the  big  double-enders.  come  in  and  go  out  all  hours  of  the  day 
and  night,  weighted  to  the  water's  edge  with  people  and  vehicles.  For  thirteen  miles 
along  the.city  shore  every  foot  of  the  Hudson  River  may  be  used  as  anchoring  ground  for 
vessels  of  the  greatest  tonnage;  and  the  same  is  true,  or  nearly  so,  of  nine  and  a  quarter 
miles  of  the  East  River.  So,  including  the  capacity  of  the  Harlem  River  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  city,  New  York  has  a  hundred  and  fifteen  square  miles  of  safe  anchorage  in 
almost  any  kind  of  weather.  Another  approach  from  the  sea  to  the  city  is  by  way  of 
Long  Island  Sound,  out  of  which,  with  the  irregular  bays  and  rocky  strait  of  Hell  Gate 
for  a  connecting  link  and  the  Harlem  River  for  a  tributary,  comes  the  East  River.  The 
Sound  is  wide  and  deep,  a  long  and  somewhat  narrow  sea  sometimes  touched  by  rough 
weather;  it  is  separated  from  the  ocean  by  the  very  considerable  barrier  of  Long  Island, 
dotted  by  lovely  summer  houses,  fashionable  watering  places,  and  charming  suburban 
cities.  New  York  now  includes  the  East  River  islands,  Blackwell's,  Ward's  and  Ran- 
dall's, where  the  city  prisons,  work-houses  and  hospitals  are  situated;  Governor's,  Bedloe's 
and  Ellis' s  Islands  in  the  Bay,  occupied  by  the  United  States  government;  Manhattan 
Island,  where  the  main  part  of  the  city  is  situated;  and  a  portion  of  the  mainland  sepa- 
rated from  the  original  New  York  by  Harlem  River,  flowing  into  the  Sound,  and  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek,  flowing  into  the  Hudson.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  city  of 
Yonkers,  east  by  the  Bronx  and  the  East  Rivers,  west  by  the  Hudson,  and  south  by  the 
Bay;  its  extreme  length  is  sixteen  miles,  its  greatest  width  is  four  and  a  half  miles. 
The  whole  area  is  forty-one  and  a  half  square  miles  or  twenty-six  thousand  acres,  the 
home  of  one  and  one  third  million  of  people,  a  very  large  part  of  whom  are  crowded 
into  the  lower  part  of  the  island.  The  main  thoroughfare  of  the  city  is  Broadway;  it 
begins  in  Bowling  Green  above  the  Battery  Park,  and  makes  a  straight  line  till  within  a 
few  blocks  of  Union  Square,  where  it  bears  off  toward  the  Hudson  and  extends  in  a  di- 
rection nearly  due  north,  through  a  quiet  almost  deserted  part  of  upper  New  York,  to 
about  io5th  Street,  where  it  is  lost  in  another  avenue,  a  block  away  from  Riverside  Park. 
At  one  end  like  the  country; 'at  the  other,  narrow,  crowded,  and  thickly  set  with  mag- 
nificent business  houses  towering  hundreds  of  feet  upward  in  noble  fa9ades.  Through 


WESTERN    UNION    TELEGRAPH    BUILDING. 


348 


Cities  of  the  World. 


all  its  distance  it  is  a  varying  scene  of  wholesale  trade,  retail  business,  great  hotels, 
fashionable  promenades,  open  squares,  places  of  amusement,  and  long  blocks  of  private 
houses.  The  Battery,  named  from  an  old  fort  which  once  stood  here,  is  green  and 
pleasant,  with  winding  paths  and  lines  of  benches  where  hundreds  of  people  walk  and 
sit  all  day  long,  enjoying  the  sea  breeze  and  lively  harbor  view;  but  just  above  it,  and  on 
the  roadways  on  all  sides,  there  is  a  great  confusion  of  horse-cars,  carriages,  trucks,  and 
countless  other  public  and  private  vehicles,  dashing  this  way  and  that,  rumbling  over  the 
stone  pavements  to  the  ferry-houses,  the  wharves,  down  side 'streets,  or  joining  the 
dense  throng  of  the  Bowling  Green,  that  pours  into  Broadway.  The  great  office  build- 
ings in  the  vicinity  of  the  Battery  are  some  of  the  finest  in  New  York,  particularly  the 


THE  OLD  POST  OFFICE.      MADE  OUT  OF  THE  ANCIENT  DUTCH  CHURCH.       THE    SITE    OF  WHICH 
IS    NOW    OCCUPIED    BY    THE    MUTUAL    LIFE    INSURANCE    BUILDING. 

large  stone-trimmed  structure  of  the  Washington  Building,  which  stands  facing  the 
Battery  on  the  corner  of  Bowling  Green,  the  site  occupied  by  the  hotel  where  General 
Washington  used  to  stay  in  the  days  of  old.  To  the  east  of  it,  across  the  crowded 
way,  is  another  great  red  brick  building  with  rich  red  terra-cotta  ornamentation  and  a 
lofty  square  tower  two  hundred  feet  high.  This  is  the  newly  finished  Produce  Ex- 
change, which  is  already  famous  for  the  broad  view  of  the  harbor,  suburbs  and  city 
from  the  tower,  and  for  its  vast  size  and  office-room,  its  handsome  fittings  and  great  hall 


35O  Cities  of  the  World. 

make  it  one  of  the  chief  buildings  in  New  York.  A  few  blocks  up  Broadway,  in  the 
midst  of  crowds  of  men  with  preoccupied  and  eager  faces,  hurrying  up  in  one  line, 
down  in  another,  along  the  encumbered  side-walks,  past  boxes  and  bales  of  goods,  small 
fruit  dealers,  news  and  candy  stands,  beggars,  and  policemen,  you  are  presently  at  the 
head  of  Wall  Street.  Great  insurance  offices,  banks  and  business  houses  of  various 
kinds  and  large  importance,  loom  far  skyward  on  all  sides,  and  line  the  narrow  easterly 
running  side-street  as  far  as  one  can  see.  Wall  Street  is  the  center  of  a  network  of  thor- 
oughfares and  alley-ways,  in  which  the  greatest  banking  and  railway  business  of  the 
country  is  concentrated.  Wall  Street  proper  extends  from  Broadway  to  the  East  River, 
a  distance  of  half  a  mile;  it  is  densely  crowded  with  the  offices  of  nearly  all  the  money 
princes  of  the  United  States;  here,  too,  are  the  Custom  House,  the  Sub-Treasury,  the 
Drexel  Building,  offices  of  stock  brokers,  lawyers,  financial  managers,  and  all  the  multi- 
tudes connected  with  these  branches  of  business.  The  name  Wall  Street  comes  from 
the  old  Dutch  wall  which  ran  along  here  in  the  days  of  New  Amsterdam,  and  made  the 
northern  limit  of  the  settlement,  and  where  the  Sub-Treasury  now  stand  the  first  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  assembled,  and  on  its 
marble  steps  a  fine  bronze  statue  of  Washington  has  been  placed  in  memory  that  it  was 
under  this  portico  that  our  first  President  was  inaugurated. 

Near  by  is  the  entrance  to  the  Stock  Exchange,  which  stands  on  Broad  Street,  near 
Wall,  and  is  reached  from  three  different  streets.  The  interior  is  occupied  by  a  spacious 
and  lofty  hall,  having  a  gallery  across  one  end  for  visitors.  When  business  is  at  its 
height,  the  "  Floor"  seems  to  be  covered  with  a  tangled  mass  of  men  and  boys,  shriek- 
ing and  waving  their  arms  aloft  like  maniacs.  The  entire  "  Street,"  as  all  this  vicinity 
is  called,  partakes  of  the  same  excitement,  and  from  ten  till  four  it  is  filled  with  a  vast 
throng,  which,  on  a  great  field  day,  seems  almost  delirious.  Bank  messengers  with  bags 
of  gold  and  packages  of  bonds,  saucy  office  boys,  quiet  looking,  but  shrewd  detectives, 
telegraph  boys  in  their  blue  uniforms  with  brass  buttons,  carrying  messages  from  all 
parts  of  the  world;  railway  kings,  who  control  the  convenience,  even  the  life  and 
sustenance  of  thousands;  spruce  clerks,  and  gray  haired  speculators.  These  and 
hundreds  of  others,  whose  lives  are  bound  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  market,  make 
up  the  great  surging  tide  of  Wall  Street  in  New  York,  from  which  run  wires  that  hourly 
carry  the  news  of  successes  and  failures,  large  and  small,  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Facing  all  this  turmoil  and  confusion  and  these  lines  of  stately  architecture,  stands 
the  somber  church  of  Old  Trinity,  the  most  venerated  if  not  the  oldest  building  in 
the  city.  This  site  was  granted  for  a  church  before  the  year  1700;  but  the  old  church 
was  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1776,  and  the  building  put  up  later  was  found  unsafe, 
was  pulled  down  and  replaced  by  the  present  handsome  Gothic  sanctuary,  which  was 
finished  in  1846.  The  brown  sandstone  of  its  walls  and  graceful  steeple  is  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  majestic  granite,  brick  and  marble  buildings  which  have  since  been  built 


New  York.  351 

around  it  on  all  sides;  but  the  old  church  does  not  suffer  by  comparison;  and  even  if  it 
did,  New  Yorkers  would  not  be  able  to  see  it.  The  spire  is  two  hundred  and  eighty-four 
feet  high,  and  from  it  there  is  a  fine  view  of  the  turrets,  gables  and  towers  and  upper 
stories  crowning  the  down-town  buildings;  the  chimes  ring  out  the  hours  in  a  solemn 
sweetness  that  is  heard  above  the  rumble  and  roar  of  the  traffic  filling  a  score  of  streets 
close  by.  The  gates  to  the  old  graveyard,  with  its  many  quaint  headstones  and  the 
Martyrs'  Monument,  and  the  doors  of  the  church,  are  usually  open  in  the  daytime. 
Inside  the  heavy  walls  the  noise  without  is  but  dimly  heard.  The  gray  outlines  of  the 
groined  roof  and  carved  Gothic  columns  are  lost  in  deep  shadows,  and  richly  brought 
out  in  warm  colors  from  the  stained  windows.  The  beautiful  red  and  white  marble 
altar  and  reredos  were  built  to  the  memory  of  William  B.  Astor.  Trinity  Parish  owns 
some  of  the  most  valuable  property  in  New  York,  and  is  a  very  rich  church,  as  well  as 
a  most  active  and  far  reaching  one  in  charitable  work. 

Few  of  the  down-town  streets  are  more  interesting  and  full  of  variety  than  Fulton; 
it  runs  across  the  island,  which  gradually  increases  in  width  from  the  Battery  northward, 
not  far  above  Trinity.  At  its  two  ends  are  two  of  the  greatest  markets  of  the  city — 
Fulton  Market  on  the  East  River;  Washington  on  the  Hudson.  It  is  the  main  thor- 
oughfare leading  to  Fulton  Ferry,  which  carries  over  more  people  than  any  other,  the 
boats  being  so  packed  sometimes  that  there  is  not  a  foot  of  unused  standing  room;  it 
also  reaches  the  other  water  front  near  a  large  Hudson  River  ferry,  and  has  a  larger 
number  of  well  dressed  men  and  women  than  any  other  place  down  town  excepting 
Broadway.  The  street  itself,  like  many  of  those  running  parallel  and  at  angles  with  it, 
is  lined  with  small  retail  shops  on  the  ground  floors  and  manufacturers'  lofts  above,  inter- 
spersed with  large  wholesale  houses.  There  is  a  greater  variety  of  articles  offered  for 
sale  here  than  in  any  other  one  street  in  New  York  probably,  from  pins  and  needles  to 
heavy  iron-work,  from  guns  and  fishing  tackle  to  expensive  jewelry,  from  books  and 
stationery  to  all  sorts  of  cheap  and  cast  off  clothing,  from  paintings  and  bric-b-brac  to 
old  iron. 

A  district  extending  for  some  distance  above  Fulton  Street  on  the  east  side  is  the 
center  of  the  hide  and  leather  trade.  It  is  called  the  "  Swamp,"  from  the  overflows  that 
used  to  occur  here  at  very  high  tide.  The  streets  are  short  and  narrow,  and  the  air 
redolent  with  the  odor  of  salted  hide  and  fresh  sole-leather,  mixed  with  the  smell  of  kid, 
morocco  and  calf-skin.  The  approaches  of  the  East  River  Bridge  skirt  the  "  Swamp  " 
on  the  north,  and  beneath  the  lofty  arches  of  the  incline  is  New  York's  only  arcade  of 
stores.  This  runs  through  a  quarter  of  the  most  mixed  up  and  irregular,  narrow  and 
encumbered  streets  of  the  city,  and  comes  out  finally  and  suddenly,  upon  the  smoothly- 
mown  and  well-kept  green  of  City  Hall  Park. 

Around  and  upon  this  stand  a  magnificent  group  of  white  marble  buildings.  Chief 
of  these  is  the  Post  Office  and  United  States  Court  Building,  which  covers  a  great  tri- 


352 


Cities  of  the  World. 


angle-shaped  block  on  the  south  of  the  Park,  and  faces  down  Broadway  from  a  point 
where  several  side  streets  open.  Park  Row  branches  obliquely  off  toward  the  east. 
From  morning  till  night  the  press  of  pedestrians,  and  the  noisy  throng  of  every 
kind  of  New  York  vehicle,  surge  incessantly  around  this  point.  Half  a  dozen  horse 
cars  are  coming  down  Park  Row  to  the  Broadway  line,  or  starting  up  again  all  the  time; 
coupes,  hansoms,  gentlemen's  coaches,  with  here  and  there  a  light  buggy  dart  in  and 
out  amongst  lumbering  drays,  four-horse  express  wagons,  carts,  lumber  wagons  and 
conveyances  without  number,  so  thick  that  the  whole  passage  on  the  Broadway  side  is 


NEW   COURT   HOUSE,    CITY   HALL   PARK.    ' 

often  blocked  for  ten  minutes  at  a  time,   and  crossing  is  unsafe  except  under  the  escort 
of  a  policeman. 

Facing  the  Post  Office  on  the  south  is  the  tall,  handsome  entrance  of  the  Herald 
Building,  and  above  it  lies  Printing  House  Square.  Opposite,  the  sombre  gray  building 
of  the  Astor  House  fills  a  block  on  the  western  side  of  Broadway;  and  reaching  away  in 


\I.\V    YORK    HERALD PARK.    BANK. 


354 


Cities  of  the  World. 


every  direction  are  tall  warehouses,  newspaper  offices,  publishing  houses  and  great  busi- 
ness establishments  of  the  wholesale  trade. 

The  Post  Office  and  Court  Building  is  the  most  imposing  edifice  in  New  York; 
the  width  of  the  south  front  is  occupied  entirely  as  an  entrance;  it  measures  a  hundred 
and  thirty  feet,  or  a  little  more  than  one  third  the  width  of  the  fa9ades  on  Broadway 
and  Park  Row,  and  less  than  one  half  that  of  the  northern  front.  The  basement  is  one 
great  apartment,  devoted  to  the  sorting  of  letters  and  making  up  of  the  mails;  the  first 
floor,  reached  by  handsome  staircases  and  a  dozen  elevators,  is  the  receiving  department; 
off  from  its  stately  corridors  open  the  sections  for  money-orders  and  registered  letters, 
the  stamp  and  envelope  bureaus  and  the  private  rooms  of  the  postmaster  and  secretaries. 

The  United  States  Court  rooms  are  on  the  second  and 
third  floors.  The  Post  Office  is  never  closed;  over  twelve 
hundred  men  are  employed,  and  mails  are  sent  out  to 
over  thirty  thousand  post  offices.  During  a  year  about 
a  hundred  and  thirty- four  millions  of  letters  and  other 
mailable  articles  are  sent  out.  Nearly  a  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  letters  and  packages  are  received  per 
year,  about  one  half  of  which  go  into  the  boxes  of  the 
main  office  for  delivery;  about  one  fourth  are  distributed 
by  carriers,  the  remaining  fourth  being  sent  to  the  stations 
in  the  other  parts  of  the  city. 

The  City  Hall,  the  seat  of  the  city  government, 
stands  in  the  center  of  the  Park.  It  was  the  first  of  the 
public  buildings  of  the  city,  and  was  built  between  the 
years  1803  and  1812,  near  what  was  then  the  outskirt  of 
New  York,  and  cost  over  half  a  million  of  dollars.  It  is 
a  white  marble  structure,  with  a  square  clock  tower,  sur- 
mounted by  a  high  dome,  and  a  long  front  with  a  stately 
portico  in  the  center.  In  it  are  the  Mayor's  Office,  the 
Common  Council  chamber  and  other  city  offices,  and  the 
City  Library.  On  the  second  floor  is  the  "Governor's 
Room"  where  official  receptions  are  held.  There  is  a 
desk  in  this  room,  at  which  Washington  wrote  his  first  message  to  Congress,  and 
the  chairs  in  which  the  first  Congress  sat,  and  the  one  which  Washington  used  at  the 
time  of  his  first  inauguration.  The  room  is  hung  with  a  gallery  of  paintings,  containing 
many  portraits  of  men  who  have  been  of  importance  to  New  York  or  the  nation. 

Above  the  City  Hall  is  the  new  Court  House,  fronting  on  Chambers  Street,  the  upper 
boundary  of  the  Park.  It  is  a  stately  Corinthian  hall  of  white  marble,  with  a  colonnaded 
portico  and  steps,  which  are  said  to  be  the  finest  piece  of  work  of  the  kind  in  America. 


NEW   YORK   TRIBUNE. 


New  York. 


355 


The  interior  is  equally  beautiful  and  elaborate  in  the  apartments  fitted  up  for  the  State 
Courts  and  several  city  departments. 

Like  nearly  all  the  thoroughfares  running  away  from  Broadway,  Chambers  Street — 
the  center  of  the  hardware  trade  in  New  York — takes  a  straight  course  to  the  river, 
crossed  by  two  elevated  railways  and  ending  among  the  commission  docks  and  produce 
warehouses  of  West  Street;  but  New  Chambers,  on  the  East  side,  is  lost  a  short  distance 
from  the  park  in  the  tangled  network  of  criss-cross  roads,  where  large  manufactories, 
publishing  houses  and  other  mercantile  warerooms,  are  hedged  in  by  great  shabby  dwell- 
ings, and  some  of  the  lowest  shops  anywhere  seen.  Five  Points  used  to  be  not  far  from 


•--•   ----- 


NEW    YORK    ACADEMY    OF   DESIGN. 

here;  it  is  now  marked  by  the  neat  Boys  Lodging  House,  and  city  mission  that  was 
founded  more  than  twenty-four  years  ago  in  the  midst  of  the  worst  slums  of  the  city. 
Although  lower  New  York  is  fast  becoming  exclusively  devoted  to  business,  and  is 
growing  to  be,  like  "  the  city  "  in  London,  the  scene  of  the  greatest  activity  during  the  day 
and  absolute  quiet  after  business  hours,  there  are  many  thickly  populated  districts  here, 
yet.  Families  of  five  to  fifteen  live  in  a  single  room;  little  children  are  born  and  brought 
up  in  cellars,  dark  rooms  and  sky  parlors;  sometimes  in  buildings  partly  devoted  to 
business,  sometimes  in  the  great  blocks  of  five  or  six  story  tenements.  The  tenement 
house  regions  swarm  with  miserable,  shiftless  men  and  women,  and  dirty  vagrant  chil- 
dren, whose  wretched  little  lives  may  have  only  one  bright  spot — the  Fresh  Air  Fund's 


Cities  of  the  World. 

two  weeks'  trip  into  the  country  in  the  summer.  From  these  quarters  come  the  great 
mass  of  the  city's  cheap  labor,  and  the  greatest  number  of  petty  criminals.  Numerous 
grog  shops  and  low  gambling  dens  stand  on  every  block,  and  make  a  center  of  attrac- 
tion for  groups  of  men  and  women.  Sometimes  these  houses  have  a  cramped  inner 
court  reached  by  narrow  alley-ways  beneath  the  buildings;  but  they  have  no  yard  room; 
nothing  fresh  or  green,  save  here  and  there  a  poor  little  plant  in  some  sewing  woman's 
window,  or  a  bunch  of  flowers  that  has  found  its  way  here  through  the  Flower  Mission. 
Clothes  are  either  dried  on  the  roofs  or  by  ropes  extended  from  a  window  to  the  oppo- 
site wall.  Further  up  town  these  tenements  are  succeeded  by  better  built  brick  buildings 
with  two  or  three  rooms  to  a  family,  and  a  small  grass  plot  in  a  little  back  yard;  and  in 


the  broad  new  streets  of  the  upper  districts  there  are  substantial  flats,  let  in  floors,  a  fam- 
ily to  each;  and  enormous,  finely  built  apartment  houses,  that  are  among  the  most  luxu- 
rious homes  and  most  imposing  buildings  the  city  can  show.  These  are  in  the  vicinity 
of  Central  Park,  and  along  the  streets  and  avenues  near  the  center  of  the  city,  while 
the  poor  tenements  are  mostly  near  the  river  fronts.  The  localities  adjacent  to  the 
wharves  and  docks  teem  with  a  sort  of  life  peculiar  to  themselves.  The  streets,  the 
dirtiest  and  most  unsightly  you  can  find,  are  always  choked  with  heavy  drays,  trucks,  bag- 
gage and  freight  wagons;  the  sidewalks  and  the  wharves,  lined  with  shipping  whose  bow- 
sprits extend  far  across  the  street,  are  crowded  with  "waterside  characters,"  lounging 


New  York. 


357 


amongst  the  roughest  of  the  laboring  classes  who  find  employment  here.  Low 
"  dives  "  and  rum-shops  and  eating  houses  are  at  every  turn.  But  in  the  midst  of  all 
this,  much  of  which  hinders  rather  than  helps  traffic,  there  is  more  important  business 
carried  on  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Street  along  the  North  River,  and  South  Street  on  the 
East  River,  than  it  is  possible  to  estimate.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Hudson  River  block 
bounded  by  West,  Little  Twelfth,  Washington  and  Gansevoort  streets,  known  as  the 
Market  Wagon  Stand,  is  a  strange  sight  in  the  early  mornings.  For  nearly  a  mile, 
within  a  few  blocks  of  the  river,  the  streets  are  packed  close  with  market  wagoners  from 
the  country,  who  have  brought  in  part  of  New  York's  vegetable  supply  for  the  day.  By 


ASTOR    LIBRARY. 

seven  o'clock,  the  tanned  faces  and  big  wagons  of  all  the  farmers,  gardeners  and  huck- 
ster women  have  disappeared.  Their  produce  is  scattered  far  and  wide  through  the 
city,  into  the  markets,  or  on  the  wagons  of  the  licensed  venders,  who  cry  their  wares 
through  the  poorer  of  the  uptown  streets. 

The  handsome  new  Jefferson  Market  is  about  a  half  mile  from  here,  toward  the 
center  of  the  city,  built  in  the  same  style  and  adjoining  the  house  of  the  Third  District 
Court  of  New  York,  commonly  known  as  the  Jefferson  Market  Police  Court.  The 


358 


Cities  of  the  World. 


buildings  are  of  brick  trimmed  with  light  stone  and  terra-cotta,  with  gabled  roofs,  sur- 
mounted by  several  small  ornamental  t'owers  and  one  large  round  clock  tower,  rising 
far  above  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway. 

The  important  retail  stores  for  which  the  avenue  is  famous,  begin  in  this  vicinity, 
and  extend  in  handsome  lines  of  tall  glass  fronts,  for  several  miles  up.  Next  to  Broad- 
way, it  is  the  busiest  and  most  crowded  street  of  first  class  retail  establishments  running 
north  and  south.  Not  far  above  the  Court  House  it  crosses  Fourteenth  Street  and,  further 
on,  Twenty-Third  Street;  both  of  these  connect  with  Broadway,  and  combined,  are  the 
seat  of  the  best  stores  for  every  kind  of  goods  that  fashion,  taste,  comfort  or  necessity 
could  demand  for  household  or  personal  use.  Fourteenth  Street  crosses  Broadway  at 


NEW   YORK   CITY   COLLEGE. 

Union  Square,  the  first  open  space  of  any  size  on  Broadway  above  the  City  Hall.  This 
little  park,  skirted  and  crossed  in  several  directions  by  broad,  smoothly  paved  side- 
walks, covers  about  three  and  a  half  acres,  planted  with  trees,  laid  out  with  green,  vel- 
vety lawns.  There  is  a  large  fountain  in  the  center,  surrounded  with  gay  plants,  one  or 
two  drinking  fountains  at  the  sides,  and  at  the  lower  end  there  are  large  conspicuous 
statues  of  Washington,  Lincoln  and  Lafayette.  The  boundaries  of  Union  Square  are 
Fourteenth  and  Seventeenth  streets  south  and  north;  Broadway  and  Fourth  Avenue, 
east  and  west.  The  thoroughfares  are  very  wide  on  all  sides,  and  are  built  up  with 


36° 


Cities  of  the  World. 


some  of  the  most  imposing  business  houses  to  be  seen,  with  several  large  hotels  anc 
theaters.     The  crowd  here  is  always  interesting,  always  dense  and  well  dressed. 

Below,  Broadway  is  lined  on  both  sides  with  great  dry  goods  stores,  extensiv< 
hotels,  and  a  few  theaters,  all  the  way  to  Canal  Street.  Up  and  down  in  the  road  am 
on  the  sidewalk  the  greatest  streams  of  people  anywhere  to  be  seen  are  constantly  mov 
ing.  Early  in  the  morning  it  flows  chiefly  downward,  and  is  made  up  of  working  people 
sewing  girls,  young  clerks,  and  countless  others  pouring  into  it  from  every  side  street 
and  disappearing  as  suddenly  as  they  came.  At  eight  or  nine  o'clock  the  procession 
still  moving  downward,  is  chiefly  of  business  men  on  their  way  to  counting  rooms  am 


GRAND  CENTRAL  DEPOT GRAND  UNION  HOTEL,  FORTY-SECOND  ST.  AND  PARK  AVENUE. 

offices.  From  ten  to  three,  there  are  two  streams,  one  going  down  another  up;  ther 
are  ladies  shopping,  errand  and  messenger  boys,  strangers,  collectors,  sellers  and  othe 
"  outside  "  business  men,  darting  in  and  out  of  doorways,  with  not  a  moment  to  lose.  Am 
between  the  sidewalks,  each  with  its  two  throngs  keeping  to  the  right,  all  manner  c 
vehicles  pass  up  and  down,  with  the  densely  packed  and  frequent  running  horse  car 
between.  At  four  o'clock  the  promenading  begins,  when  Broadway's  most  elegant  am 
fashionable  crowd  appears,  to  vanish  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  so,  and  be  followed  b 
an  upward  stream  of  homeward  bound  workers.  After  nightfall  the  crowds  are  thinner 


'     New  York. 


361 


and  made  up  of  pleasure  seekers,  midnight  prowlers,  and  guilty  souls  that  shun  the  day- 
light publicity.  A  few  blocks  to  the  east  the  scene  is  duplicated  on  a  cheaper  and 
shoddy  scale  beneath  the  Elevated  Road  of  Third  Avenue  and  the  Bowery 

A  few  blocks  above  Union  Square  at  Twenty-Third  Street,  Broadway  and  Fifth 
Avenue — the  great  street  of  palatial  dwellings  and  Sunday  promenades — meet  at  an 
acute  angle  just  below  Madison  Square,  the  pleasantest  little  park  in  the  great  city. 
The  settees  beneath  the  fine  shade  trees  and  bordering  the  trim  lawns,  are  often  filled 
with  guests  of  the  hotels,  or  some  of  the  residents  near  by,  reading  the  morning  paper 
or  enjoying  a  neighborly  chat.  The  white -capped  nurses,  and  children  playing  running 
games,  and  flying  about  on  roller  skates,  have  a  more  aristocratic  look  than  those  you 


BOW   BRIDGE,  SKATING    POND,  CENTRAL   PARK. 

see  in  any  of  the  lower  parks,  and  there  is  no  square  in  the  city  but  has  them.  In  the 
vicinity  tnere  are  eight  or  ten  of  the  finest  New  York  hotels  and  restaurants,  including 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  and  Delmonicos',  and  the  elegant  caf£  of  the  Hoffman  House 
and  the  Brunswick  Restaurant) 

The  most  stately  avenue  of  residences  in  the  country  lies  between  this  square  and 
Central  Park.  The  artistic  porches  and  windows  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  mansions,  the 
stately  churches  and  noble  halls  that  line  it  for  miles,  the  smooth  roadway  and  broad 
sidewalks,  make  it  the  most  popular  and  agreeable  drive  and  promenade  in  New  York; 
here  is  the  majestic  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  and  other  fine  churches;  above  Fifty-ninth 
Street  it  is  bounded  on  the  west  side  by  Central  Park,  for  more  than  fifty  blocks.  Now, 


362 


Cities  of  the  World. 


the  buildings,  still  extensive  and  elegant,  are  rather  more  scattered,  till  finally  it  end 
after  a  long  stretch  of  vacant  lots,  interrupted  once  by  Mount  Morris  Park,  at  a  ga 
little  bay  on  the  Harlem  River. 

At  some  little  distance  below  Union  Square,  the  plan  of  the  streets  undergoes 
change;  and  from  thence  upward  the  whole  width  of  the  island  is  laid  out  in  reguk 
squares,  streets  known  by  numbers,  extending  from  east  to  west,  crossing  at  right  angl< 
the  avenues  running  lengthwise.  A  few  of  these  are  occupied  wholly  or  partially  t 
stores,  manufactories,  and  for  other  business  purposes,  but  chiefly  in  solid  blocks  ( 
dwellings,  where  one  family  to  a  house  is  rather  the  exception  than  the  rule,  especial! 
out  of  Fifth  and  Madison  Avenues. 


THE    PROMENADE,    CENTRAL    PARK. 

New  York  is  below  most  large  cities  in  the  number  of  its  pleasure  grounds  an 
breathing  places,  there  being  only  nineteen  in  all,  scattered  among  its  closely  built  street: 
even  Central  Park  is  small  compared  to  the  great  parks  of  European  cities;  but  it  lad 
nothing  in  beauty  and  variety,  and  in  gayety  or  delicious  quiet  it  ranks  with  the  bes 
It  is  a  regular  oblong  in  shape,  covering  a  little  less  than  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres  ( 
naturally  beautiful  grounds,  comprising  rocky  hills,  ravines,  and  picturesque  lak< 
with  banks  overhung  by  fine  shrubbery  or  noble  shade  trees,  dotted  here  and  thei 
with  fancy  boat-houses,  or  arched  over  by  rustic  bridges.  Long  magnificent  drive: 
bridle-paths  and  winding  foot  walks  extend  in  every  direction,  crossing  ravines  b 
beautiful  marble  bridges,  tunnelling  hills  with  massive  archways,  branching  off  inl 
sequestered  arbors  or  terminating  in  lofty  summer-houses.  It  is  a  popular  resort  fc 
all  classes  and  all  ages.  In  it  is  the  fashionable  drive,  where  some  of  the  finest  horse 


364 


Cities  of  the  World. 


and  most  elegant  carriages,  as  well  as  the  richest  and  most  celebrated  people  in  th 
country  may  be  seen  almost  any  pleasant  afternoon,  riding  in  stately  magnificence  amon 
every  other  grade  of  equipage,  including  the  poorest  hacks,  or  the  commodious  ope 
park  stages.  The  greatest  mass  of  people  is  always  to  be  seen  on  the  Mall,  a  broa 
and  beautiful  tree-lined  avenue,  which  extends  from  the  vicinity  of  the  old  Arsena 
Museum  and  zoological  collections  to  the  lake,  in  about  the  center  of  the  lower  half  c 
the  Park. 

The  finest  of  the  museum  buildings  is  that  of  Natural  History  at  Seventy-sevent 
Street  on  the  western  outskirts,  and  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  nearly  opposit< 


VINERY   NEAR   THE   CASINO,  OVERLOOKING    THE    PROMENADE, 
CENTRAL    PARK. 

overlooking  Fifth  Avenue.  On  a  knoll  near  by  stands  the  great  stone  Obelisk,  whic 
was  made  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  more  than  fifteen  centuries  before  Christ,  an 
erected  at  Heliopolis,  afterward  transferred  to  Alexandria  during  the  reign  of  tt 
Ptolomies,  and  to  the  United  States  as  a  gift  of  the  late  Khedive  of  Egypt,  a  few  yea: 
ago. 

About  opposite  the  Natural  History  Museum  and  westward  of  it,  is  the  lower  end  < 
Riverside  Park,  a  charming  place  for  a  ramble  or  drive,  extending  in  a  long  and  narro 
strip  for  about  three  miles  along  the  high  shore  of  the  Hudson  River.  The  head  of  tt 
Park,  almost  all  of  which  is  comprised  in  one  broad  picturesque  drive,  has  been  chose 
for  the  monument  to  General  Grant,  whose  body  now  rests  in  a  temporary  tomb,  bui 
on  purpose. 

Above  Central  Park,  especially  across  the  Harlem  River,  the  city  is  more  or  le: 


New  York. 


365 


scattered.  Blocks  of  brick  or  brown-stone  residences  and  flats  extend,  with  now  and  then 
a  vacant  lot  or  set  of  shanties,  in  many  of  the  streets  and  avenues,  while  in  some  places 
there  are  long  stretches  of  unused  land,  and  but  partly  improved  avenues,  intersected 


OLD    ARSENAL    IN    PARK,   NOW    THE    MENAGERIE. 

by  roads,  some  of  them  old  and  irregular,  leading  to  the  Jerome  Park  Race-course, 
Woodlawn  Cemetery,  and  various  parts  of  Westchester  and  Yonkers. 

The  manufactures  of  New  York  include  thousands  of  industries,  and  are  greater 


MUSIC    STAND,    CENTRAL    PARK. 

than  those  of  any  other  American  city.  It  has  the  largest  trade  centered  at  any  one 
place  in  the  world,  being  the  headquarters  for  more  than  one  half  the  United  States' 
commerce,  and  the  greatest  grain  market  in  the  world.  Corn  and  wheat  brought  from 


366 


Cities  of  the  World. 


the  Western  States  are  stored  here  in  immense  elevators,  from  which  they  are  loadec 
into  ships  and  taken  to  Europe. 

The  schools,  colleges,  universities  and  special  institutes,  the  public  libraries  anc 
benevolent  institutions  are  very  many,  and  stand  among  the  best  in  the  world. 

New  York's  greatest  suburb  is  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  lying  beside  the  metropolis  or 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  East  River,  and  connected  with  it  by  the  magnificent  suspen- 
sion bridge,  which  is  the  largest  and  finest  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  The  sister  city  is 
quite  distinct  in  its  management  and  its  characteristics  from  Gotham,  as  Washington 
Irving  has  called  New  York.  Many  fine  broad  streets  near  the  ferries  are  occupied 


BRIDGE   CONNECTING    BROOKLYN    AND    NEW    YORK    CITY. 

with  stores  that  rival  those  across  the  river,  and  the  public  buildings  and  city  institu- 
tions are  beautiful  and  imposing;  the  religious  buildings  are  so  many  that  it  is  well  known 
as  the  City  of  Churches;  but  in  the  main  this  is  a  vast  home  city,  where  the  great  over- 
flow of  New  York's  poor,  well-to-do  and  wealthy  workers  and  business  men  make  their 
homes.  There  is  an  air  of  comparative  quiet  here,  though  the  streets  are  lined  mile- 
after  mile  with  closely  packed  buildings,  and  teem  with  life,  especially  at  night,  when 
the  city  gathers  to  itself  about  six  hundred  thousand  souls.  The  most  attractive  anc 
aristocratic  portion  is  the  commanding  bluff  above  the  river,  known  as  Brooklyn  Heights. 
The  streets  here  are  built  up  with  the  same  taste  and  elegance  seen  in  the  Fifth  Avenue 


368  Cities  of  the  World. 

mansions,  to  which  Clinton  Street  and  Columbia  Heights  correspond  as  a  fashionable  pron 
enade,  while  Clinton  Avenue,  with  a  great  width  ornamented  with  splendid  shade  tree 
and  lined  with  beautiful  residences,  surrounded  by  handsomely  designed  grounds,  su 
passes  anything  to  be  seen  in  New  York.  The  Heights  are  below  the  Suspension  Bridg 
about 'Opposite  the  Battery.  Along  the  shore  below,  and  extending  out  of  sight  in  bol 
directions,  the  entire  water  front  is  occupied  by  piers,  slips,  warehouses,  ship-yards  an 
ferries.  At  an  angle  some  distance  above  the  Bridge,  opposite  Corlears  Hook  at  tt 
foot  of  Grand  street,  New  York,  is  the  United  States  Cob  Dock,  encircled  by  the  Wall; 
bout  Bay,  a  deep  channel  which  separates  it  from  the  Navy  Yard. 

Below  the  heights,  separated  from  Governor's  Island,  where  Fort  Columbus  stand 
and  General  Schuyler  rules  supreme,  is  the  great  Atlantic  Dock.  This  encloses  a  basi 
of  forty  acres'  extent,  and  a  uniform  depth  of  twenty-five  feet.  Hundreds  of  the  large; 
ships  that  enter  the  New  York  port  can  be  accommodated  here  at  once. 

Brooklyn's  great  resort  is  Prospect  Park,  which  lies  on  the  southern  outskirts  ne; 
Windsor  Terrace  and  Greenwood  Cemetery.  It  was  not  laid  out  until  after  the  close  ( 
the  Rebellion,  but  has  no  unpleasantly  new  appearance,  in  its  vast  extent  of  groves  an 
lawns,  grassy  knolls  and  quiet  dells;  the  roads  are  hard  and  smooth,  the  walks  plante 
with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  amply  supplied  with  drinking  fountains,  seats  and  shad 
resting  places;  and  in  many  places  there  are  little  pavilions  for  refreshments.  Tl- 
lake  covers  over  sixty  acres,  and  is  a  grand  place  for  skating  in  winter,  a  charming  she* 
for  rowing  in  the  warmer  months. 

Lookout  Carriage  Concourse,  the  highest  point,  is  a  large  knoll  almost  two  hundre 
feet  above  the  sea,  with  a  fine  view  of  the  harbor  and  the  distant  points  of  beauty,  extent 
ing  down  the  Bay,  up  the  Hudson  to  the  Palisade.s,  and  westward  to  the  Orange  Mountain: 
At  the  southern  end  of  the  Park  twenty-five  acres  have  been  cleared  and  fitted  for  th 
National  Guard  Parade  Ground,  where  all  the  well-drilled  regiments  of  the  two  citie 
are  inspected  twice  a  year,  and  at  other  times  games  of  polo,  cricket  and  baseball  ai 
frequently  played. 

Buffalo,  the  third  city  of  the  Empire  State,  is  twelfth  in  the  Union,  exceeding  i 
size  and  importance  many  of  the  State  capitals,  even  that  of  New  York.  It  stands  i 
the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara  River,  the  granite  tower  of  the  Cit 
Hall  stretching  haughtily  above  the  surrounding  acres  of  countless  factory  chimne) 
and  steam  pipes,  which  send  up  filmy  volumes  that  hang  like  a  curtain  over  the  se; 
board  districts. 

"  Northward,  past  the  high  bluffs  crowned  by  the  ruins  of  Fort  Porter  and  the  ston 
copings  of  The  Front ,  flows  the  Niagara.  Parallel  with  it,  packed  with  long  lines  ( 
freighted  boats  towed  by  slow- paced  horses,  is  the  Erie  Canal.  South  and  westwarc 
Lake  Erie  spreads  out  in  endless  billows;  and  at  the  east,  forming  a  noble  backgroun 
to  the  city,  rise  the  Chautauqua  hills  and  the  highlands  of  Evans  and  Wales." 


Bitffalo. 


369 


In  the  foreground  stands  an  imposing  row  of  nearly  forty  grain  elevators,  extending 
a  mile  along  Buffalo  Creek;  one  of  them  on  the  spot  where  the  first  invention  of  a  steam 
storage  transfer  elevator  was  built  as  an  experiment  in  1842.  Part  of  the  creek  has 
been  made  into  a  capacious  and  well  protected  harbor,  extending  in  front  of  the  city 
and  opening  on  the  lake;  but  the  great  grain  port  is  growing  to  need  more  than  this,  so 
the  government  is  now  building  immense  breakwaters  to  form  a  large  outside  harbor. 
All  through  the  summer  the  harbor  is  full  of  life;  tugs  dart  hither  and  yon,  lake  vessels, 
big  and  little,  receive  their  cargoes,  huge  steamers  and  propellers  take  on  passengers 
or  freight  for  the  upper 
lake,  while  numerous  pleas- 
ure yachts  steam  toward 
the  International  Bridge, 
which  opens  in  the  center 
with  a  massive  swing  to  let 
them  pass.  Finally,  and 
most  important,  stretching 
in  all  directions,  are  the 
railroads  between  the  Great 
West  and  the  Eastern  sea- 
board. The  Queen  City  of 
the  Empire  State  is  the 
starting  point  or  terminus 
of  twenty  different  railway 
lines.  The  transfer  yards 
at  East  Buffalo  are  the 
largest  in  the  world,  and 
the  network  of  tracks  that 
extends  around  the  harbor 
side  of  the  city,  pours  out 
a  vast  quantity  of  coal,  salt 

,  .       .,        ,    ,  ERIE   CANAL,  NEW  YORK    STATE. 

and  petroleum  in  the  lake 

vessels,  in  return  for  cargoes  of  grain,  flour,  lumber,  iron  and  copper  ore. 

"  Commercial  Buffalo  is  like  a  portly  and  self-satisfied  spider,  supreme  in  the  center 
of  her  web."  There  are  more  than  four  square  miles  of  territory  within  the  city  limits 
owned  by  railroad  corporations;  and  so  immense  is  the  coal  trade  here,  that  if  it  were 
not  so  celebrated  as  a  railroad  center,  it  would  be  famous  as  a  coal  depot;  without 
either  of  these  interests  it  would  stand  as  one  of  the  leading  live  stock  markets  of  the 
country;  this  gone  too,  it  would  be  a  famous  grape-sugar  manufacturing  place;  the  city 
originated  this  industry,  and  leads  it  before  the  world;  and  world-wide  also  is  its  fame 
24 


370  Cities  of  the  World. 

for  the  building  of  the  cantilever  bridge  of  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad,  over  th< 
Niagara  River.  Beside  these  there  are  immense  oil  refineries,  malt-houses,  breweries 
distilleries,  chemical  works  and  ship-yards,  hundreds  of  large  factories  that  supply  ; 
thriving  trade  in  carriage  wheels,  stoves,  engines,  farming  tools,  boots  and  shoes,  t< 
say  nothing  of  the  many  active  smaller  establishments,  in  all  making  the  number  o 
Buffalo's  manufactories  into  the  thousands. 

The  streets  of  the  city  run  out  diagonally  from  Park  Terrace,  and  adjoining  Niagar; 
Square,  which  lies  up  from  the  lake  shore  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  river-like  harbor 
The  arrangement  of  the  Buffalo  streets  is  very  peculiar,  for  while  they  nearly  all  rui 
out  from  this  common  center,  they  are  long  and  straight,  excepting  where  Genesee 
Batavia,  and  a  few  other  streets  crossing  obliquely  form  regular  square  or  oblong  blocks 
The  chief  business  thoroughfare  is  Main  Street,  and  crosses  the  town  a  few  blocks  eas 
of  Niagara  Square. 

In  the  buildings  here,  as  everywhere  in  her  business  sections,  you  see  a  picturesqui 
combination  of  the  old  Dutch  town  and  the  new  enterprising  American  city.  But  whil< 
Buffalo  may  be  justly  proud  of  her  wealth  and  trade,  it  has  little  to  boast  of  in  publi< 
buildings.  The  City  and  County  Hall  is  a  fine  Venetian  structure  in  granite,  with  ; 
clock  tower  almost  as  high  as  Trinity  steeple  in  New  York.  Its  main  front  is  01 
Franklin  Street;  on  the  other  side  it  overlooks  Delaware  Avenue,  which,  like  nearly  al 
the  other  thoroughfares,  is  broad,  well-paved,  and  lined  with  noble  shade  trees.  The  Jai 
is  opposite  the  City  Hall,  a  massive  limestone  building;  the  other  noteworthy  structure; 
are  the  United  States  Custom  House  and  the  Post  Office,  the  State  Arsenal,  the  Eri< 
County  Penitentiary,  and  surpassing  all  the  others  perhaps,  the  large  and  imposing  Stat< 
Insane  Asylum.  Of  the  seventy-five  churches  in  Buffalo,  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathe 
dral  and  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  are  the  finest,  and  although  none  of  the  schools  or  othe: 
educational  institutions  are  particularly  noteworthy  as  buildings,  the  city  and  the  Stat< 
has  reason  to  be  proud  of  them  for  their  usefulness.  The  homes,  hospitals  anc 
asylums  are  many;  they  comprise  some  of  the  noblest  institutions  of  the  country;  es 
pecially  those  where  poor  or  homeless  little  folks  are  cared  for  in  the  day  nursery,  o 
where  they  live  under  the  motherly  eyes  of  matrons  and  nurses  in  great  happy  families 
fostered  by  benevolent  people. 

Buffalo  is  almost  as  much  of  a  cosmopolitan  city  as  New  York.  Germans,  English 
Italians,  Swedes,  Poles,  Japanese,  Turks  and  Arabs,  most  of  them  dressed  after  Ameri 
can  fashions,  make  up  a  large  part  of  the  throng  in  the  crowded  streets;  have  thei: 
names  in  the  membership  books  of  the  leading  clubs  and  societies;  take  their  part  in  al 
the  industries — one  long  business  street  is  called  Germantown — have  their  festivals,  anc 
in  every  way  hold  a  very  large  share  in  the  interests,  the  welfare  and  the  importance 
of  the  Queen  City.  An  hour's  ride  brings  you  to  the  famous  Niagara  Falls. 

The  capital  of  New  York  is  Albany,  a  city  of  about  a  hundred  thousand  people 


Rochester. 


371 


and  ranking  fourth  in  the  State.  It  is  finely  situated  on  the  Hudson  River,  not  quite 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  New  York  city.  Its  importance  as  a  river  port  is  in- 
creased  by  connection  with  the  North  through  the  Champlain  Canal,  with  the  West  by 
the  Erie  Canal,  and  by  several  lines  of  railroad  meeting  here.  It  is  one  of  the  largest 
timber  markets  in  the  world;  receiving  about  seven  million  dollars'  worth  every  year; 
it  is  also  a  center  for  other  business  operations,  and  is  especially  noted  for  its  stove 
factories. 

The  streets  are  not  generally  very  regular,  nor  its  houses  especially  elegant,  but  its 
schools,  colleges  and  other  institutions  are  many  and  well  planned;  its  public  works, 
with  a  fine  marble  City  Hall,  are  good.  The  arrangements  and  departments  for  the 


STATE    CAPITOL,    ALBANY. 

State  government  are  very  fine,  particularly  the  new  building  of  the  Capitol,  which  is 
one  of  the  noblest  in  America.  It  is  built  of  granite,  and  covers  more  than  three  acres 
of  ground,  while  in  its  fair  proportions  and  its  magnificent  fittings,  it  can  only  be  com- 
pared to  the  national  capitol  at  Washington. 

The  second  city  of  western  New  York  is  Rochester.  It  is  somewhat  east  of 
Buffalo,  on  the  Genesee  River,  seven  miles  from  its  mouth  in  Lake  Ontario.  It  has 
about  a  thousand  less  people  than  Albany,  and  has  one  of  the  best  universities  in  the 
country.  The  river  has  four  high  and  beautiful  falls  in  the  city,  which  are  of  practical 
benefit  as  well  as  picturesque  value  to  the  locality,  and  furnish  water  power  to  many  large 
mills  and  factories.  Among  the  most  important  industries  are  the  manufacture  of  flour, 
clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  beer,  locomotives,  steam-engines  and  tools.  It  is  also  cele- 


3/2  Cities  of  the  World. 

brated  for  great  nursery  gardens,  from  which  plants  and  seeds  are  sent  to  all  parts  o 
the  United  States.  Some  of  these  nurseries  bring  a  great  deal  of  wealth  into  the  place 
and  their  owners  have  built  magnificent  villas  surrounded  with  extensive  grounds  in  o 
near  the  city.  Nearly  all  the  houses  lining  the  handsome  wide  streets  have  prett^ 
yards  and  gardens.  The  public  and  private  buildings,  exhibitions  and  art  galleries 
are  fine  also.  The  Warner  Observatory  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  country,  and  the  geo 
logical  cabinet  at  the  University  has  not  many  superiors  in  the  United  States. 

The  head  of  steamboat  travel  on  the  Hudson  and  the  great  seat  of  iron-works  01 
this  side  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  is  Troy.  The  stove-works  and  bell  foundries,  foi 
which  it  is  celebrated  throughout  the  world,  are  the  largest  in  the  United  States,  am 
there  are  great  manufactories  of  railroad  cars,  machines,  tools  and  many  orher  things 
The  water  power  for  all  these  industries  is  furnished  by  the  great  dam  crossing  th< 
Hudson  opposite  the  city,  and  by  the  falls  of  some  smaller  streams  in  the  vicinity 
The  almost  limitless  water  supply  is  also  used  in  running  great  steam  laundries,  whicl 
wash  and  iron  vast  quantities  of  clothes;  some  of  which  are  sent  from  Boston,  Nev 
York  and  other  large  cities.  In  population  Troy  is  a  little  more  than  half  the  size  o 
Buffalo,  and  about  the  same  as  Syracuse. 

Syracuse  is  one  of  the  principal  inland  cities  of  the  State;  it  is  a  meeting-place 
for  many  railroads  and  canals,  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  and  thickly  populated  par 
of  the  country,  which  gives  it  a  large  trade.  It  is  principally  noted  for  its  salt  works 
which  are  the  most  extensive  in  the  Union.  The  salt  is  made  from  the  water  of  sail 
springs,  and  deep  wells  near  the  shore  of  Onondaga  Lake.  The  salt  water  drawn  frorr 
the  wells  by  steam  pipes,  is  left  to  grow  thick  in  large  wooden  tanks,  which  covei 
several  square  miles  of  ground,  each  one  having  a  roof  which  can  be  rolled  over  it  ir 
rainy  weather.  When  thick  enough,  the  water  is  drawn  out  and  boiled  in  kettles,  unti 
it  all  passes  off  in  steam. 

Boston,  the  capital  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  metropolis  of  New  England,  stands 
fifth  in  size  among  the  cities  of  the  United  States.  According  to  the  new  census,  there 
are  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  people  living  there,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  famous 
places  in  the  world.  It  is  the  center  of  culture  for  the  country,  a  wealthy  and  influential 
city,  which  is  jokingly  called  the  "Hub  of  the  Universe."  The  original  settlement, 
around  which  there  lingers  so  much  of  historic  interest,  is  now  part  of  what  is  known  as 
the  North  End,  and  is  abandoned  to  the  poorest  dwellings  and  great  warehouses,  while 
in  every  direction  new  districts  are  spreading  out  into  fresh  business  quarters  and  ex- 
tensive avenues  of  dwellings. 

When  you  leave  the  broad  expanse  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  enter  Boston  Harbor, 
unless  you  are  in  a  sloop  or  schooner  that  can  find  its  way  in  through  the  northerly 
passage,  called  Broad  Sound,  it  must  be  through  the  deep  mile-wide  channel,  which 
connects  the  Bay  with  the  Harbor  beyond;  sheltered  from  the  stiff est  gale  by  many 


Boston. 


373 


islands,  that  afford  no  beauty  but  a  great  obstruction  to  free  in  and  outward  passage. 
Large  ships  are  not  now  as  frequent  visitors  as  they  used  to  be  in  these  waters;  but 
there  are  many  coasters  and  fishing  schooners,  while  a  few  transatlantic  lines,  East 
Indiamen  or  some  of  the  great  Liverpool  cattle  steamers,  are  nearly  always  to  be  seen. 
The  harbor  is  very  safe  and  large,  and  Boston's  commerce,  like  its  wealth,  its  banking 
capital,  and  the  valuation  of  its  property,  stands  next  to  that  of  New  York.  The  water 
frontage  of  the  city  is  immense, 

Old  Boston  is  a  great  long  peninsula;  South  Boston  on  the  east  of  that,  separated 
from  it  by  the  South  Bay  and  the  channel  leading  to  the  Harbor,  is  another  peninsula 


FANEUIL   HALL,  BOSTON. 

protruding  a  long  distance  to  the  east;  on  the  west  of  the  city  proper  is  Cambridge  with 
the  Charles  River,  itself  like  a  bay,  lying  between  and  mingling  its  water  with  Millers 
River  and  the  other  streams  that  sweep  around  the  head  of  North  End,  from  East 
Cambridge  and  Charlestown,  and  mingling  with  the  Mystic  and  Chelsea  Creek,  flow  down 
between  Boston  and  East  Boston  into  the  Harbor.  It  is  a  curious  grouping  of  penin- 
sulas here,  some  of  which  have  been  much  enlarged  by  filling  in  the  little  bays  that  once 
indented  their  shores,  and  all  the  ponds  and  creeks  around,  besides.  In  earlier  days, 
the  city  was  almost  cut  off  from  the  mainland  on  the  south  and  southwest,  but  that  has 
been  made  as  wide  as  the  broadest  part  of  the  peninsula,  and  is  so  built  up  that  not  a 
trace  of  the  old  "  Neck,"  as  it  was  called,  remains;  and  to  it  has  been  annexed  the  ad- 


374 


Cities  of  the  World. 


jacent  land  on  almost  every  side,  so  that  Boston  now  includes  almost  twenty-four  thoi 
sand  acres,  more  than  thirty  times  its  original  area.  This  includes  the  water  forke 
districts  of  the  built-up  city,  and  the  pleasant  suburbs  skirting  them  on  all  sides. 

The  upper  part  of  the  city  proper,  with  Charlestown  above  on  the  left  hand,  an 
East  Boston  on  the  right,  is  the  old  North  End,  skirted  back  of  the  long  wharves  t 
Commercial  Street,  with  its  solidly  built  warehouses.  Here  are  great  stores,  whei 


WASHINGTON   STATUE,  BOSTON. 

grain,  ship  chandlery,  fish  and  other  articles  are  sold;  and  a  continuation  of  it  on  tl 
east  Atlantic  Avenue,  keeps  up  a  lively  commercial  aspect,  way  round  to  the  New  Yoi 
and  New  England  Railway  Depot  at  the  turn  of  Federal  Street,  from  Fort  Chann 
toward  the  Post  Office. 

From  the  head  of  North  End,  Hanover  Street,  lately  widened,  takes  its  long  curvir 
course  southward  into  the  heart  of  crooked,  irregular,  busy-streeted  Boston.  Th 
street  has  always  been  a  well-known  stand  for  cheap  goods  of  all  kinds.  It  is  the  mai 


Boston. 


375 


thoroughfare  to  the  northerly  wharveSj  and  the  Winni- 
simmet  Ferry,  from  the  center  of  the  city.  The  streets 
here,  above,  below  and  all  sides,  are  crooked,  irregular, 
narrow,  broad,  broken  unexpectedly  by  squares,  resumed 
or  discontinued  without  any  plan  or  uniformity,  so  that  a 
stranger  is  constantly  getting  lost,  even  now,  when  many 
streets  have  been  straightened,  widened  and  re-named. 

Adjoining  Dock  Square,  from  which  several  of  the 
newly  improved  streets  of  old  Boston  radiate  northward 
toward  the  water-front,  is  famous  old  Faneuil  Hall.   There 
all  the  town  meetings  were  held,  from  the  time  the  Hall 
was  first  built  until  1822.     Before  the  Revolution  it  was 
the  scene  of  so  many  stirring  events  and  earnest  discus- 
sions against   oppression,  that  it  is  called  "  Cradle  of 
Liberty."     In  every  crisis  in  our  history  since  then  these 
old  walls  have  rung  with  the  eloquence  of  patriotism,  as 
firm  for  the  right  and  powerfully  prevailing  as  that  of  the 
early  heroes  and  statesmen  whose  portraits  line  the 
room.     The  present  Hall  was  built  to  take  the  place 
of  the  old  one  presented  to  Boston  in  1742  by  Peter 
Faneuil,   and   destroyed   by  fire   about   twenty 
years  later.     It  was  enlarged  to  its  present  size 
in  1805.     There  is  a  provision  in  the  city  char- 
ter forbidding  its  sale  or  lease;  but  it  is  at  the 
disposal  of  the  people,  whenever  a  suffi- 
cient number,  complying  with  certain  reg- 
ulations, ask  to  have  it  opened.     Part  of 
old  Mr.  Faneuil's  6bject  in  building  the 
Hall,  was  to  provide  a  town  market  on  the 
ground  floor;  but  after  the  fire  a  new  mar- 
ket called  Quincy,   after  the  mayor,  was 
built  opposite.     It  is  a  busy  scene  here 
during  market  hours;  the  place  is  large 
and  crowded;  the  streets  surrounding  it 
are  broad  and  full  of  life,  and  lead 
to  the  wharves  facing  the  harbor  inlet. 
On  the  other  side  of   Hanover 
Street  are  several  more   interesting 
old    places;     Copp's   Hill    Burying 


THE   NEW    (OLD)    SOUTH   CHURCH,    BOSTON. 


Cities  of  the  World. 

Ground,  Salem  Street  and  Christ  Church  and  several  others  of  the  fast  disappearing 
landmarks.  Within  the  North  End  district,  four  of  the  eight  railroads  terminating  in 
Boston,  have  their  convenient,  and  in  some  cases,  imposing  stations.  The  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad  comes  quite  into  the  city,  discharging  its  passengers  and  freight  at 
Haymarket  Square.  This  is  another  meeting-place  for  a  whole  radius  of  broad  streets, 
coming  mainly  from  Dock  Square  and  the  market  on  the  east,  although  one  or  two  busy 
thoroughfares  lead  toward  the  intricate  labyrinth  in  the  vicinity  of  Scollay  Square. 


COMMONWEALTH   AVENUE,  SHOWING    THE   BRATTLE   SQUARE   CHURCH    AND   THE  VENDOME. 

From  this  most  irregular  triangle,  with  its  statue  of  Governor  Winthrop,  its  network 
of  horse-car  tracks,  its  Court  Street  and  Tremont  Row,  you  can  take  a  direct  road  ap- 
parently to  every  part  of  Boston;  but  almost  all  of  them  take  you  a  few  blocks  and 
leave  you  facing  half  a  dozen  courses,  with  names  that  mislead  instead  of  guide  you. 
But  to  the  east  lies  a  safe  course  for  the  present  at  least  (if  you  are  a  sight-seer),  in  the 
group  of  buildings  around  Court  Square,  and  to  the  south,  the  broad  sweep  of  Tremont 
Street  leads  to  the  Common.  The  district  east  of  Tremont  Street,  and  extend- 


378 


Cities  of  the  World. 


ing  south  and  eastward  from  Scollay  Square,  is  now  the  great  business  center  of  Boston 
State  Street  is  the  bankers'  and  brokers'  headquarters;  through  and  around  Franklin 
Chauncy,  Summer  and  Devonshire  streets  are  great  dry  goods  establishments,  a  brand: 
of  trade  in  which  Boston  leads  the  country;  and  further  on  is  the  seat  of  the  wool  in 
terests,  another  staple  in  which  the  "Hub"  is  a  leading  market.  Besides  thes< 
branches  of  trade,  you  will  see  wholesale  houses  in  iron,  groceries,  clothing,  paper 
fancy  goods  and  stationery,  books  and  pictures,  music  and  musical  instruments,  jewelry 
tea,  coffee,  spices,  tobacco,  wines  and  liquors,  and  many  other  branches  of  trade  al 

clustered  within  a  compara 
tively  small  area,  in  the  cen 
ter  of  the  city.     Here  is  thi 
retail  trade  too,  and  an  arm; 
of  lawyers  guarding  its  out 
skirts;   from  here  the  grea 
Boston    papers   are   issued 
and  the  fame  of  actors  an< 
singers      spread      abroai 
through  the  city.     It  i 
the  center  of  business,  o 
thought    and     influence 
and  much  of  the  pleasur 
of  the  New  England  cap 
ital,    and    contains    at    th 
same    time,    several    of   th 
chief  buildings,   public   am 
partially  so. 

Perhaps  the  most  no 
ticeable  of  the  group  neares 
Scollay  Square,  is  the  tal 
square  Concord  granit 
structure  of  the  City  Hall 
with  its  dome  crowned  by  an  American  eagle.  Upon  the  lawn  in  front  are  statues  o 
Franklin  and  Josiah  Quincy;  and  back  of  the  Hall,  fronting  on  Court  Street,  is  tin 
County  Court  House.  These  substantial,  plain,  gloomy  walls,  with  massive  Doric  por 
tico  held  up  by  huge  columns  of  fluted  granite,  will  be  superseded  before  long  prob 
ably  by  a  new  and  more  suitable  one  on  Beacon  Hill.  In  the  pleasant  looking  Quinc] 
granite  structure  on  the  corner  of  Tremont  Street  and  Temple  Place,  the  United  State; 
Courts  meet.  Its  long,  arched  windows,  massive  towers  and  gray  walls,  make  it  loot 
more  like  a  church,  than  St.  Paul's,  next  door,  with  its  severe  Ionic  portico  and  plair 
attic  above. 


STATE    HOUSE. 


Boston. 


379 


Several  of  the  narrow  old  thoroughfares  and  some  of  the  newly  broadened  streets 
around  this  block  are  always  filled  with  a  stream  of  men  and  women,  going  toward  or 
coming  from  the  general  Post  Office.  The  building  is  also  devoted  to  the  Boston  Sub- 
Treasury,  and  is  a  great  massive  structure  occupying  a  large  block  and  facing  a  spacious 
triangular  square,  at  a  point  where  the  busiest  streets  of  Central  Boston  come  together 
from  every  direction.  Three  corridors,  parallel  and  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  adjacent 
streets,  run  around  the  ground  floor  of  the  building,  partly  surrounding  the  great  hall, 
where  the  post  office  work  is  carried  on.  The  Sub-Treasury  is  in  the  second  story,  and 


POST    OFFICE. 

has  a  splendid  large  hall,  profusely  adorned  with  rich  marbles  and  variegated  marezzo 
slabs,  bronze  chandeliers,  plate  glass  and  other  costly  trimmings.  The  Post  Office  is 
surrounded  by  the  Equitable  Building  and  Signal  Service  Offices,  fine  large  insurance 
companies'  buildings,  the  Simmons  Buildings  and  other  imposing  looking  structures, 
or  important  seats  of  business;  while  on  the  adjacent  blocks  to  the  west  are  the  offices 
of  the  great  newspapers,  the  Advertiser,  Post  and  the  Transcript,  near  together  and  a 
little  beyond  the  Old  South  Church  on  Washington  Street,  the  Herald,  Journal,  and  the 
Globe  are  printed  in  the  vicinity  of  some  of  the  great  hotels.  The  Old  South  Church, 
quaint  and  interesting  of  itself,  is  one  of  the  most  famous  historical  buildings  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  now  preserved  by  the  Boston  people  as  a  loan  museum  of  histori- 


38o 


Cities  of  the  World. 


cal  relics.  A  tablet  above  the  entrance  on  the  Washington  Street  side  of  the  tower 
gives  the  main  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  the  church,  which  often  served  as  ; 
town-hall  in  the  troublous  times,  when  popular  feeling  ran  high,  and  the  early  orator 
drew  crowds  too  great  for  Fanueil  Hall.  There  is  not  much  of  the  old  appearance  lef 
now;  but  the  records  are  preserved,  and  the  museum  is  full  of  interest  to  all  Americans 
with  its  Revolutionary  weapons,  its  flags,  quaint  old  furniture,  portraits  of  the  Ne> 
England  fathers,  and  other  curious  and  valuable  mementoes.  A  little  further  on  is  th 
Old  State  House,  which  has  been  restored  within  the  past  few  years,  and  now  looks  ver 
much  as  it  did  when  the  meetings  of  the  general  colonial  court  were  held  here,  and  afte 


cm 

the  Revolution  those  of  the  Commonwealth.  Above  the  Old  State  House,  Court  Stree 
opens  into  Scollay  Square,  and  below  it,  State  Street  leads  past  the  stately  Custoi 
House  to  Long  Wharf.  There  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the  interesting  places,  new  an 
old,  within  this  small  district  of  Central  Boston,  with  its  great  mercantile  activity,  an 
its  public  buildings. 

Following  Tremont  Street,  from  its  head  at  Scollay  Square,  the  most  prominer 
building  you  see  is  the  Boston  Museum,  by  far  the  oldest,  the  handsomest,  most  con" 
plete  and  brightest  place  of  amusement  in  the  city.  The  museum  part  is  of  little  irr 


Boston.  381 

portance,  while  the  theater  is  of  great  note.  Adjacent  are  the  Parker  and  Tremont 
hotels,  and  Tremont  Temple,  one  of  the  most  popular  assembly  halls  in  the  city.  On 
Tremont  Row,  in  this  vicinity,  was  the  court  quarter  of  old  Boston,  where  stood  the 
houses  of  Governor  Endicott,  Sir  Harry  Vane  and  Richard  Bellingham,  and  the  famous 


RECTORY   OF   TRINITY   CHURCH,    BOSTON. 

ministers,  Cotton,  Oxenbridge  and  Davenport.  Close  to  the  museum  is  the  granite 
home  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  the  oldest  organization  of  its  kind  in 
America.  The  library  of  books  and  manuscripts  is  very  large  and  fine,  and  many  rare 
historical  curiosities  are  preserved  here  with  great  care.  Beyond  is  the  first  burying 


382 


Cities  of  the  World. 


ground  established  in  Boston.  Its  curious  monuments  date  back  to  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  the  remains  of  many  of  the  most  illustrious  people  of  Ne\* 
England  have  been  buried  beneath  its  sod.  It  is  not  now  used  for  interment,  and  is 
only  occasionally  opened  to  visitors.  Adjoining  this  acre  of  the  dead  in  the  heart  oi 
the  busy  capital,  stands  old  Kings  Chapel,  the  chief  Episcopal  meeting  house  in  old 
Boston;  it  was  built  in  1754,  and  afterward  became  the  first  Unitarian  church.  This 
stands  on  the  corner  of  School  Street,  where  the  old  Latin  School  used  to  be, — the 
place  where  so  many  of  our  great  New  England  men  spent  the  best  of  their  study  days. 


YOUNG    MEN'S  CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION    BUILDING. 

The  western  continuation  of  School  Street  is  famous  old  Beacon  Street.  This 
rounds  the  block  occupied  by  the  great  Athenaeum  Museum  library,  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity, old  Park  Street  Church,  with  the  Burying  Ground  in  the  center,  which  stands 
at  the  head  of  Boston  Common,  and  makes  the  western  boundary  of  that  famous  park, 
till  it  leaves  it  far  behind,  keeping  on  its  way  across  the  site  of  the  old  "  Neck."  Op- 
posite this  block,  still  on  Tremont  Street,  stands  the  most  perfectly  classical  structure 
in  Boston,  Horticultural  Hall.  Its  noble  proportions  of  white  granite  rise  in  three  great 


Boston 


383 


stories,  flanked  by  a  colonnaded  buttress  and  statuary,  and  surmounted  by  a  colossal 
figure  of  Ceres  upon  the  ornamental  roof  front.  The  ground  floor  is  used  for  business, 
and  the  two  halls  above  are  devoted  to  the  exhibitions  and  meetings  of  the  society,  to 
parlor  concerts,  lectures,  social  gatherings  and  fairs.  The  old  artists'  and  musicians' 
headquarters,  the  extensive  Studio  Building,  are  opposite. 

The  Common  is  a  comparatively  small  fan-shaped  park,  in  about  the  center  of 
the  city.  It  is  planted  with  trees,  and  covered  with  a  velvety  turf,  intersected  by  paths, 
and  skirted  by  malls,  shaded  by  fine  old  trees.  A  little  west  of  the  center  is  the  old 
Frog  Pond,  with  its  fountain,  where  the  boys  of  Boston  skate  in  winter,  and,  in  mild 
weather,  sail  their  miniature  fleets.  On  one  of  the  little  hills  near  by  is  an  elaborate 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Monument.  Charles  Street,  on  the  south,  separates  the  Common 
from  the  Public  Garden,  whose  monument  and  flower-beds  contrast  pleasantly  for  both 
with  the  simpler  natural  beauties  of  the  other.  From  the  center  of  the  Gardens,  the 
long  tree-lined  drive  and  promenade  of  Commonwealth  Avenue  extends  far  southward 
to  the  suburb  of  Brookline,  while  on  either  side  fine  streets  of  residences  run  parallel 
with  it  and  the  Charles  River  to  West  Chester  Park.  On  some  of  the  streets  that  cross 
these  thoroughfares,  and  connect  them  with  other 
main  suburban  avenues,  there  are  many  noble 
churches,  institutes,  schools  and  hotels. 

The  largest  number  of  Protestant  churches  here 
are  Unitarian,  but  almost  every  civilized  religion  is 
represented,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  of 
the  Holy  Cross  is  the  largest  church  in  New  England. 
It  is  in  the  early  English  Gothic  style,  and  covers 
more  ground  than  the  cathedrals  of  Strasburg,  Pisa, 
Vienna,  Venice  or  Salisbury.  The  front  is  but- 
tressed and  towered  with  three  spires  of  unequal 
height,  two  of  which  rise  high  above  the  pointed 
roof.  The  pillars  that  support  the  lofty  clerestory 
and  open  timber  roof  are  of  bronze.  The  great 
organ  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  country,  and  the 
beautiful  stained  glass  of  the  immense  windows  is 
protected  by  outer  windows  of  heavy  plate  glass. 
There  are  a  great  many  hospitals,  asylums  and  ref- 
uges in  the  city,  which  generously  and  ably,  and  often 
freely,  provide  for  the  helpless,  homeless  and  dis- 
tressed of  the  great  capital.  It  is  said  that  there  has  been  more  labor,  material,  and  money 
laid  out  in  leveling  the  ground,  reclaiming  land  from  the  water,  straightening  and  widening 
the  streets,  and  improving  the  territory  in  every  way,  than  has  been  spent  for  the  same 


LIBERTY    TREE,  BOSTON    COMMON. 


384 


Cities  of  the  World. 


purposes  in  all  the  other  chief  cities  of  the  United  States.  The  broad  water-courses 
are  crossed  by  causeways  and  bridges,  excepting  the  wide  channel  to  East  Boston. 
This  is  reached  by  ferries,  to  keep  the  harbor  open  to  the  Navy  Yard  in  Charlestown. 
This  district  is  also  noted  for  the  Bunker  Hill  monument. 

The  people  of  Boston  are,  on  a  whole,  the  most  intellectual  of  any  city  in  the 
country.  It  has  been,  and  is  the  residence  of  the  greatest  number  of  literary  people  in 

the  United  States;  its  art  schools 
are  admirable;  its  musical  instruc- 
tion at  the  Conservatory  and  else- 
where, is  of  the  best;  it  leads  in 
common  school  education,  and  in 
the  number  and  excellence  of  its 
lectures  and  other  intellectual  op- 
portunities. This  is  largely  due  to 
Harvard  University  at  Cambridge. 
This  is  the  oldest  and  one  of  the 
most  famous  in  the  country.  It  is 
composed  of  a  thorough  classical 
college,  schools  of  law,  medicine, 
dentistry,  theology,  science,  mining 
and  agriculture,  each  with  its  own 
funds,  independent  of  any  other;  but  all  under  one  general  management.  Some  of  the 
buildings  are  very  fine;  all  are  good,  but  Memorial  Hall,  built  by  the  Alumni,  or  former 
graduates,  in  memory  of  Harvard  men  who  fell  in  the  Civil  War,  is  the  grandest  and 
most  beautiful  of  all. 

Not  very  far  from  the  college  stands  the  Washington  Elm,  under  which  General 
Washington  took  command  of  the  Continental  army  on  the  3d  of  July,  1775.  This  is 
the  last  tree  of  a  noble  forest  that  once  covered  all  this  part  of  Cambridge.  A  short 
distance  away  is  the  house  where  Longfellow  lived,  and  in  many  directions  throughout 
the  town  there  are  places  to  be  pointed  out,  where  great  writers  and  scholars  live  or  have 
lived  to  the  benefit  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  Cambridge. 

This  suburb  is  also  famous  as  the  first  place  in  America  where  a  printing  press  was 
set  up,  and  it  has  now  some  of  the  largest  and  finest  printing  and  publishing  houses  in  the 
country.  Cambridge  is  not  under  the  city  government  of  Boston,  as  the  other  adjacent 
places  are;  it  is  a  city  of  itself,  with  over  fifty  thousand  inhabitants. 

The  second  city  of  Massachusetts  is  Lowell:  it  has  about  sixty  thousand  people, 
who  are,  for  the  most  part,  engaged  in  some  of  the  large  manufactories  of  the  place. 
The  Merrimac  River  supplies  the  power,  and  has  been  the  chief  means  of  the  growth  of 
the  city.  More  cotton  cloth  is  made  here  than  in  any  other  place  in  the  United  States, 


NEW    ENGLAND    CONSERVATORY    OF    MUSIC,  BOSTON. 


Worcester. 


385 


excepting  one.  It  has  large  works  where  calicoes  are  printed,  and  factories  where  woolen 
cloths,  shawls,  carpets  and  stockings  are  made.  The  companies  owning  these  mills 
have  large  model  boarding  houses,  where  only  operatives  live;  and  fine  hospitals  where 
sick  employees  are  cared  for  free  of  charge.  The  city  has  beautiful  public  squares, 
and  handsome  avenues,  the  scenery  is  most  picturesque,  especially  toward  the  river 
and  adjacent  suburbs.  It  is  quite  an  important  railroad  center,  and  is  provided  with 
public  halls,  libraries  and  excellent  institutions  of  all  kinds. 


HARVARD    COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE. 

Worcester,  with  about  three  thousand  less  people  than  Lowell  is-  another  noted 
manufacturing  city  of  Massachusetts.  It  is  in  the  center  of  a  fine  agricultural  district, 
in  a  valley  surrounded  by  beautiful  hills.  The  streets  are  broad  and  shaded;  the  court 
house,  the  hospital,  orphans'  home  and  other  benevolent  institutions  are  celebrated  in 
many  parts  of  the  State.  More  than  fifteen  hundred  people  are  employed  in  making 
boots  and  shoes,  which  is  the  chief  industry  of  the  city;  but  there  are  also  other  large 


386 


Cities  of  the  World. 


manufactories,  particularly  of  machinery  and  tools,  thread,  yarn,  carpets,  blankets  and 
jewelry.  The  Worcester  schools  are  among  the  best  in  the  Union.  In  connection  with 
the  Institute  of  Science,  there  is  a  machine  shop,  where  the  students  add  to  their  knowl- 
edge by  constant  practice.  The  best  library  and  cabinets  are  those  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  which  has  some  very  fine  buildings  and  extensive  collections. 

Lowell's  rival  in  cotton  cloth  manufacturing  is  Fall  River,  a  place  of  about  fifty 
thousand  people,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Taunton  River.  It  is  also  a  seaport  with  a  fine 
harbor,  visited  by  many  vessels.  It  has  a  woolen  factory,  two  calico  print  works, 
machine  shops  and  other  mills.  A  line  of  large  and  splendid  steamboats  connects  the 
city  with  New  York,  and  several  railroads  extend  to  other  important  places  in  the  State. 


PROVIDENCE,  RHODE    ISLAND. 

After  the  metropolis,  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  has  in  Providence  the  largest  and 
richest  city  of  New  England.  Standing  on  an  arm  of  Narragansett  Bay,  it  is  the  principal 
port  of  entry  for  the  State,  and  has  steamboats  from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore 
and  Norfolk,  constantly  going  in  and  out  of  its  fine  harbor.  The  population  of  the  city  is 
a  hundred  and  five  thousand,  and  a  large  part  of  the  people  are  interested  in  its  manu- 
factories; nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  are  jewelry  works;  the  Gorham  Silver 
factories  are  the  largest  in  the  world;  and  the  cotton  and  woolen  mills  are  very  exten- 


New  Haven.  387 

sive;   but  beside  these  Providence  has  great  interests  centered  in  tool-making,  screw-, 
works  and  the  manufacture  of  rifles,  stoves,  locomotives  and  fine  engines,  beside  the 
trade  in  print  calicoes,  which  is  greatest  here  of  any  place  in  the  United  States. 

The  city  being  on  both  sides  of  the  Providence  River,  as  the  harbor  is  called,  it 
has  the  full  benefit  of  its  water  advantages;  and  to  these  are  added  two  small  streams, 
which  supply  the  manufactories  with  water  power.  Above  the  two  bridges  crossing  the 
river,  it  expands  into  a  cove,  which  is  a  mile  in  circuit,  and  bordered  by  a  handsome 
park,  shaded  with  elms.  In  1764  a  college  was  founded  here,  and  being  largely  en- 
dowed by  Mr.  Nicholas  Brown,  was  named  after  him,  Brown  University.  It  has  five 
colleges  with  scholarships  and  stipends  to  aid  the  students,  a  good  library,  a  museum 
and  a  portrait  gallery.  Mr.  Brown  also  contributed  to  the  Athenaeum,  and  his  bene- 
faction was  followed  by  other  generous  gifts  toward  noble  institutions,  of  which  Provi- 
dence now  has  a  goodly  number. 

Next  to  Providence,  and  a  little  more  than  half  its  size  in  population,  is  New  Haven, 
the  beautiful  "  Elm  City  "  of  Connecticut.  It  stands  at  the  head  of  a  bay  opening  into 
Long  Island  Sound.  The  city  itself  is  nearly  level,  occupying  a  sandy  plain  between 
the  Quinipiac  and  Mill  rivers  on  the  east,  and  the  West  River  on  the  west,  quiet,  pictur- 
esque streams  that  flow  through  the  green  meadows  of  the  outskirts,  gleaming  like 
silver  in  the  sunshine  or  reflecting  the  green  of  overhanging  foliage.  On  either  side  of 
the  city  rise  abruptly  the  bare  faces  of  West  Rock  and  its  larger  mate  East  Rock. 
Between,  almost  hidden  by  heavy  branches  in  foliage  season,  is  the  city  of  commerce, 
manufactories  and  education.  A  generous  gentleman  left  a  large  sum  of  money,  with 
which  a  smoothly  paved  winding  drive  has  been  made  around  East  Rock  from  the  base 
to  the  summit,  while  all  the  natural  beauties  of  trees  and  wild  flowers  and  bush-grown 
dells  are  preserved.  From  the  top  of  the  Rock  the  view  is  broad,  full  of  variety  and 
beauty.  To  the  left  is  the  broad  harbor  with  its  wharves  and  docks  busy  day  and  night, 
for  the  city  is  the  terminus  for  several  steamboat  lines,  and  is  the  center  of  retail  trade 
with  the  surrounding  country,  and  has  nearly  all  the  coal  and  freight  of  New  England 
passing  through  it.  Further  out  toward  the  broad  blue  waters  of  the  Sound  are  the  boat- 
ing grounds,  and  nearer  by  are  the  half  hidden  chimneys  of  New  Haven's  large  factories. 
Some  of  the  largest  of  these  are  for  clocks  and  carriages,  but  the  city  is  more  celebrated 
•for  Candee's  rubber  works, — the  second  largest  in  the  world — and  for  the  Winchester 
rifle,  pistol  and  cartridge  factory;  but  there  are  also  many  other  extensive  industries, 
contrasting  strangely  with  the  quiet  studious  life  led  by  many  families  connected  with 
Yale  college.  The  center  of  New  Haven  is  occupied  by  a  great  tree-planted  and  grass- 
grown  square  called  the  Green.  This  is  skirted  by  four  broad  streets,  well-built  up  on 
one  side  with  stores  and  hotels.  On  the  other  side  the  wide  pavements  are  planted  with 
trees  and  form  part  of  the  Green,  which  is  intersected  in  many  directions  by  cross  walks 
and  occupied  here  and  there  by  the  College  buildings,  some  of  the  old  churches,  and  one  or 


388  Cities  of  the  World. 

two  handsome  public  buildings.  Through  the  Green  and  some  of  the  adjoining  ground 
of  the  college  is  Temple  Street,  which  for  its  perfect  arch  of  graceful  elms  is  known  al 
over  the  world.  Besides  the  various  departments  of  the  College,  which  is  one  of  th< 
greatest  and  best  in  America,  there  are  Hopkins'  Grammar  School,  several  other  well 
known  academies  and  boarding  schools  in  New  Haven.  The  college  is  a  university  ii 
all  but  name,  and  has  for  over  a  hundred  years  been  a  center  for  a  large  part  of  th 
social  life  of  the  city.  Along  the  beautiful  tree-lined  avenues  running  from  the  Greei 
in  all  directions  there  are  to  be  seen  handsome  houses,  surrounded  by  tastefu 
gardens,  which  are  pointed  out  as  the  residence  of  one  or  another  of  the  great  intellectua 
or  educational  men  of  the  country.  None  of  the  streets  have  a  crowded  appearance  i; 
the  buildings,  and  many  of  the  edifices  for  college  or  public  use  throughout  the  city  ar 
very  handsome.  There  are  five  daily  newspapers,  and  a  large  number  of  weekly 
monthly  and  quarterly  periodicals  published  here,  while  some  of  the  most  prominen 
scholars  and  writers  we  have  make  the  city  their  home. 

The  capital  of  the  State,  once  shared  by  New  Haven,  is  now  solely  situated  a 
Hartford,  about  thirty-six  miles  distant.  It  is  known  as  the  Queen  City  of  New  Eng 
land,  from  its  beautiful  situation  on  small  hills  at  the  junction  of  Park  River  with  th 
Connecticut.  The  Park  River  runs  through  nearly  the  center  of  the  city,  and  is  crossei 
by  a  dozen  bridges,  while  the  Connecticut  is  spanned  by  one  long  bridge  leading  to  Eas 
Hartford.  The  city  is  regularly  laid  out,  and  Main  Street  is  its  great  thoroughfare  am 
principal  place  of  business.  On  State  House  Square  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  is  the  ol< 
brick  state-house,  where  the  Hartford  Convention  met  in  1815;  in  the  secretary's  office 
the  original  charter  of  the  colony  hangs,  framed  in  wood  of  the  charter  oak;  and  in  th< 
state  chamber,  Gilbert  Stuart's  portrait  of  Washington  is  kept  in  company  with  portrait 
of  all  the  governors  of  the  colony  and  State  from  1667.  In  the  outer  portions  an< 
suburbs  of  the  city  are  many  fine  residences;  and  nearly  encircled  by  Park  River  are  thi 
fair  pleasure  grounds  named  Bushnell  Park.  In  the  western  part  is  the  State  capitol 
on  the  site  once  occupied  by  Trinity  College.  Resting  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  it  com 
mands  a  splendid  view,  and  its  sculptured  galleried  front  and  lofty  arches  and  column 
in  white  marble,  are  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  city.  The  new  site  of  Trinity  Collegi 
covers  about  eighty  acres  on  Rock  Hill,  approached  by  avenues  leading  through  thi 
most  delightful  parts  of  the  city.  The  buildings  are  of  brown-stone,  designed  to  forn 
three  great  quadrangles  and  to  be  in  every  way  the  best  edifices  for  education  in  th< 
country.  There  are  some  magnificent  aristocratic  family  mansions  in  Hartford.  "  Marl 
Twain,"  the  late  Mrs.  Sigourney,  and  several  other  well-known  literary  people,  havi 
made  their  residences  here.  The  first  deaf  and  dumb  institute  was  founded  in  Hartfon 
by  Dr.  Gallaudet  in  1817;  it  stands  on  a  shady  hill,  and  usually  has  over  two  hundrec 
inmates  all  the  time.  There  are  other  beneficent  institutions,  public  buildings,  churche 
and  monuments,  and  a  large  number  of  wealthy  societies  in  the  city,  for  it  is  said  tha 


Hartford. 


i89 


in  proportion  to  the  number  of  people,  about  forty-three  thousand,  Hartford  is  the 
richest  city  in  America.  It  is  also  celebrated  for  its  fine  libraries  and  schools,  and  its 
great  insurance  companies,  which  have  agents  all  over  the  United  States.  The  works 
of  the  Colt  Firearms  Company  cover  almost  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  ground; 
beside  these  there  are  other  pistol  and  rifle  works,  large  steam-engine  and  sewing  ma- 


THE   CAPITOL,  HARTFORD. 

chine  factories,  carriage  shops,  and  industries  in  silk,  hardware,  screws,  gold  pens  and 
spectacles. 

The  chief  place  of  northern  New  England,  and  fifth  in  size  after  Boston,  is  Portland. 
It  is  the  principal  city  though  not  the  capital  of  Maine,  and  is  beautifully  situated  on  a 
peninsula  three  miles  long  and  one  quarter  that  width,  that  forms  a  spacious  harbor  on 
the  south  and  west  side  of  Casco  Bay.  Its  streets,  which  are  broad  and  shaded  with 


390 


Cities  of  the  World. 


trees,  ascend  from  the  shore  to  the  heights  above,  where  the  finest  residences  and  son 
of  the  large  public  institutions  are  situated.  It  is  the  terminus,  or  an  important  depot,  f 
a  large  number  of  railways,  and  a  great  transfer  station  from  land  to  water  routes.  ] 
imports  and  exports  are  each  worth  over  twenty  million  dollars  a  year,  being  large 
with  Canada,  while  several  lines  run  to  Europe,  the  West  Indies,  South  America  ai 
many  to  the  principal  United  States  ports.  The  water  front  is  lined  with  wharves  ai 
docks,  beyond  which  runs  a  marginal  railway.  The  Custom  House,- in  cold  dignity 
granite  and  marble,  is  just  above  the  principal  wharves,  while  Congress  Street  and  tl 
other  main  thoroughfares  are  higher  up.  The  city  is  closely  and  well-built;  the  stor 


FRIENDS'  MEETING-HOUSE  AND  ACADEMY,  SOUTH  FOURTH  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 


are  very  showy  and  well-stocked,  and  there  is  an  air  of  coming  and  going,  peculiar  1 
seaport  cities,  all  the  time.  Many  a  visitor  who  has  to  wait  over  several  hours  for  tra 
or  boat  is  grateful  for  the  excellent  free  library  he  finds  in  Portland;  or  takes  pleasu: 
in  seeing  the  good  institutions,  although  these  do  not  differ  greatly  from  those  in  evei 
public-spirited,  well-managed  city.  Ship-building  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  are  ir 
portant  industries,  along  with  works  for  preparing  or  making  petroleum,  carriage 
furniture,  varnishes,  boots  and  shoes,  moccasins,  cement,  pipe,  leather,  sleighs,  jewel: 
and  many  other  things.  The  population  of  Portland  is  not  quite  thirty-five  thousand. 
The  second  place  among  our  great  cities  is  claimed  by  Philadelphia.  Bostc 
disputes  this  in  general  importance,  but  not  in  size;  for  the  population  of  the  Pennsj 
vania  metropolis  is  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  New  York's  alone  is  greate 
It  is  reached  from  the  sea  through  Delaware  Bay,  being  situated  on  the  Delaware  Riv 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill.  It  is  a  broad,  fair  stream,  and  the  bay  is  fine  enough 


Philadelphia. 


391 


ccommodate  all  the  fleets  in  the  world.  The  commerce  and  other  industries  sustained 
y  the  rivers  is  of  great  value,  not  only  to  the  city  but  to  the  interests  of  the  nation, 
"he  city  lies  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware,  but  its  limits  extend  on  both  sides.  It 
ccupies  the  peninsula  between  the  two  rivers,  and  extends  for  some  distance  westward 
f  the  Schuylkill.  It  is  said  to  contain  three  distinct  cities.  Uptown,  Downtown  and 


rJAMIN, 

}  FRANKLIN 
DEBORAH  ) 

1790 

IN   THE    BURIAL   GROUND,  FIFTH    AND    ARCH   STREETS. 

;he  northeast  portion,  still  called  Port  Richmond.  This  is  where  the  coal  wharves  are, 
md  the  huts  of  the  shad  fishermen,  along  with  some  better  dwellings.  Miles  of  wharves 
ind  piers  line  the  Delaware  shore,  where  the  largest  vessels  come  up,  and  a  greater 
commercial  trade  is  carried  on  than  in  any  other  city  of  America,  excepting  New  York. 


392 


Cities  of  the  World. 


The  plan  of  the  city  was  laid  out  in  regular  blocks,  called  squares  by  the  Philadelphia! 
by  William  Penn  in  1682; ^and  although  it  has  long  since  outgrown  the  limits  he  set,  t 
same  regularity  and  simplicity  of  arrangement  have  been  followed.  The  streets  i 

numbered    from   the    river,   and   named   north   a 
south,  and  the  houses  are  so  numbered  that  one  w 
knows  anything  about  the  city  can  tell  just  abc 
where  a  house  stands,  if  he  know  the  number.     T 
first  block  of  a  street  begins  with  number  one;  t 
second  begins  with  one  hundre 
the   third   block   two  hundre 
and  so  on  in  blocks  of  one  hu 
dred  throughout.     The  practi 
of    numbering    houses    on    t 
streets  of  our  cities  began  hei 
it  was    introduced  by  Marsh 
who   took    the   second    Unit 
States   census   in    Philadelph 
It  was  in  that  census  that  all  t 
inhabitants  of  the  country  we 
mentioned  by  name. 

Theme 
im  portc 
streets  inti 
sect  the  c 
from  opf 
site  din 
tions,  a  i 
cross  ea 
other  in  t 
center,wh( 
the  magn 
cent  marl 
building 
the  Ci 
Hall  stan< 
M  a  r  k  e 

THE    RIDGWAY    LIBRARY,  PHILADELPHIA.  Street       TU 

from     t: 
Delaware  across  town,  over  the  Schuylkill,  to  Cedar  Creek  on  the  western  outskirts;  a 


Philadelphia. 


393 


Broad  Street  runs  through  the  center  of  the  peninsula,  from  north  to  south.  It  is  in 
these  streets  and  in  their  vicinity,  that  the  business  activity  and  the  gayety  of  Phila, 
delphia  reach  their  height.  The  thoroughfares  are  very  broad;  the  stores,  public  offi- 
ces, churches  and  other  buildings  are  large  and  handsome;  and  the  crowd  is  ever  present 
and  truly  characteristic.  The  people  do  not  rush  about  wildly  jostling  each  other  with 
hasty  apologies,  if  any,  as  they  do  in  New  York  and  western  cities;  they  have  an  air  of 
quiet  and  dignity,  without  being  careless  or  inactive.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  variety 
arid  some  magnificence  in  the  buildings  along  the  greatest  streets  of  the  Quaker  City; 
but  the  majority  of  the  less  important  and  residential  streets  extend  in  regular  squares 


VIEW   LOOKING    UP   THE   DELAWARE   RIVER. 

of  plain  brick  houses,  trimmed  with  marble.  These 
are  very  neat  and  pretty,  the  more  so  that  no  house- 
keeper fails  to  have  the  entire  front  of  her  house  and 
sidewalk  below  kept  spotlessly  clean;  so  the  brick  is 
bright  red  and  the  marble  a  gleaming  white.  Al- 
though Philadelphia  is  one  of  the  greatest  home  cities  in  the  country,  it  has  no  tenement 
houses;  a  dwelling  is  usually  occupied  by  one  family;  the  average  is  five  persons  to  a 


394 


Cities  of  the  World. 


house.     This  is  due  to  the  building  societies,  which  encourage  the  working  people 
save  money  and  invest  it  in  their  own  homes. 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  places  in  the  city  are  scattered  among  the  imposi 
retail  houses,  banks  and  public  offices  of  Chestnut  Street,  which  runs  parallel  wi 
Market  Street. ^  The  most  celebrated  of  these  is  Independence  Hall.  This  was  formei 
the  old  State  House  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  \\ 


INDEPENDENCE    HALL,   PHILADELPHIA. 

signed.  It  is  a  historical  museum  now,  itself  the  chief  relic  of  all.  There  are  mai 
portraits  on  its  walls  of  famous  Americans,  and  some  very  old  and  valuable  historic 
mementoes.  The  celebrated  old  Independence  Bell  is  kept  here,  and  you  can  see  tl 
great  crack  in  its  side  that  came  when  its  iron  tongue  sounded  out  the  knell  of  Briti: 
rule,  and  the  joyful  news  of  American  liberty.  In  1774  the  first  Continental  Congre 
met  at  Carpenters'  Hall,  on  the  same  street,  below  the  old  State  House.  The  nation 


Philadelphia. 


395 


Mint  was  the  first  in  the  country,  and  now  more  of  our  coin  is  turned  out  here  than  any- 
where else. 

Many  of  the  banks  are  among  the  most  prominent  buildings  in  the  city.  The 
Bank  of  North  America  is  the  oldest  in  the  country,  although  not  so  handsome  as 
several  near  by.  This  vicinity  is  the  great  financial  and  commercial  headquarters  of 
the  city,  the  "Wall  Street"  of  Philadelphia.  Traffic  is  the  thickest  here,  under  the 
shadow  of  the  courts,  the  stately  Custom  House,  resembling  a  Grecian  temple,  and  the 
modern-looking  French  structure  of  the  Post  Office.  Some  of  the  great  newspaper 
offices  are  here.  One  of  Philadelphia's  earliest  interests  was  printing.  The  first  type 


PUBLIC    LEDGER    BUILDING,  PHILADELPHIA. 

foundry  in  America  is  still  at  work  here.  Large  quantities  of  school  books  are  issued 
here,  for  Philadelphia  is  far  advanced  in  education.  The  schools  are  good  and  numer- 
ous. '  The  University  of  Pennsylvania  was  originally  founded  under  another  name  by 
Benjamin  Franklin,  and  Dr.  William  Smith.  Among  the  other  colleges  and  universities 
best  known,  is  Girard  College,  with  one  of  the  finest  groups  of  buildings  in  the  city. 
The  main  building  is  of  white  marble,  and  is  celebrated  as  the  finest  piece  of  Corinthian 
architecture  in  the  world.  This  is  different  from  most  of  our  colleges;  it  was  founded 
by  Stephen  Girard,  a  good-hearted  but  eccentric  gentleman,  for  the  education  of  poor 


Cities  of  the  World. 

white  boys  without  fathers,  and  according  to  his  will  no  minister  or  ecclesiastic  of  ai 
sect  or  church  is  allowed  to  visit  the  college  or  to  have  anything  whatever  to  do  with  i 
management.  In  Philadelphia,  the  first  American  Academy  of  art  was  founded;  tl 
present  building  is  magnificent  outside  and  in,  and  the  collections  filling  its  cabinets  ai 
galleries  are  made  up  of  beautiful  sculptures  and  paintings.  The  Ridgway  Libra 
is  another  noble  structure  on  the  same  street.  This  is  but  one  of  many  fine  librarie 
for  either  public  or  private  use. 


FAIRMOUNT    PARK,  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  Pennsylvania  metropolis  has  a  fair  share  of  the  benevolent  institutions  ai 
charitable  societies  of  all  kinds  that  are  to  be  found  in  every  city  of  the  United  State 
Its  churches,  too,  are  many,  representing  all  Christian  and  Hebrew  religions.  T 
Friends,  or  Quakers,  are  a  larger  body  here  than  in  any  other  city,  but  the  Presbyteria 
have  a  larger  number  of  churches  than  any  other  sect.  It  has  often  been  said  that  t 
"  City  of  Brotherly  Love  "  is  the  most  aristocratic  in  the  country;  the  best  society  the 
is  made  up  of  fine  old  Pennsylvania  families,  who  keep  quite  aloof  from  Philadelphia 
in  general,  but  make  a  most  charming  circle,  given  to  the  most  perfect  hospitality  amoi 


Pittsbu  rgh.  397 

themselves.  When  honored  old  William  Penn-planned  his  city,  he  laid  out  five  public 
squares,  but  the  increase  in  size  and  inhabitants  soon  made  a  need  for  more,  and  now 
there  are  many  pleasant  breathing  places  in  almost  every  quarter;  while  west  of  the 
northern  portion  the  Schuylkill  threads  its  way  through  one  of  the  largest  and  hand- 
somest city  parks  in  the  world.  There  are  nearly  three  thousand  acres  of  improved 
grounds,  covered  with  broad  lawns,  fine  old  trees  and  many  other  lovely  spots,  particu- 
larly along  the  stream  of  the  Wissahickon.  This  flows  through  a  picturesque  rocky 
valley  clothed  with  trees,  shrubs  and  wild  pines,  and  through  dark  dells,  where  it  is 
broken  by  numerous  waterfalls.  The  zoological  gardens  adjoining  has  the  finest 
menagerie  in  America;  the  roads  are  the  favorite  drives  for  all  the  people  and  the  river 
is  the  great  rowing  place  in  summer,  and  skating  rink  in  winter. 

The  seat  of  the  coal  and  iron  trade  in  America  is  Pittsburgh.  It  stands  where  the 
Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers  unite,  forming  the  broad  Ohio.  The  city  has  grown 
from  the  Fort  Duquesne  built  by  the  French  in  1754,  which  the  English  took  and 
rebuilt,  naming  it  Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  Prime  Minister  of  England.  The  Ameri- 
cans kept  to  the  name  after  the  British  yoke  was  thrown  off,  because  William  Pitt,  or 
Lord  Chatham,  according  to  his  title,  was  on  our  side,  and  said  if  he  were  an  American 
as  he  was  Englishman,  he  would  never  yield;  "-never,  never,  never!"  Pittsburgh  is 
now  the  thirteenth  city  of  the  Union.  The  main  part  of  it  occupies  a  level  peninsula 
between  the  rivers,  but  the  limits  have  been  gradually  extended  till  the  city — including 
Allegheny — extends  to  the  opposite  banks,  covering  the  hills,  and  reaching  far  up  the 
stream.  The  eastern  part  is  built  up  with  houses,  some  of  them  the  luxurious  homes 
of  great  mill  and  mine  owners.  The  avenues  are  planted  with  trees  and  prettily  laid 
out;  but  near  the  point  where  the  Ohio  begins,  Pittsburgh  is  a  closely  built,  bustling, 
smoky  manufacturing  place.  Mile  after  mile  is  covered  with  glass  mills,  steel  arid  iron 
works.  Tall  chimneys  may  be  counted  by  the  thousands,  which,  during  working 
seasons,  send  forth  such  clouds  of  smoke,  that  the  entire  city  is  curtained  off  from  view 
to  any  one  standing  on  the  fine  bluffs  of  Washington  Heights.  But  when  the  veil  is 
lifted  there  is  no  better  place  to  see  the  city;  its  massive  buildings,  its  closely  built 
business  blocks,  its  acres  of  factories,  cut  through  by  thoroughfares  through  which  a 
constant  swift-moving  stream  of  people  is  surging  all  day  and  night.  There  are  rail- 
roads centering  here  from  about  every  large  city  in  the  Union,  and  the  river  traffic 
extends  up  stream  and  down,  with  a  port  of  delivery  in  the  district  of  New  Orleans;  it 
is  connected  by  steamboat  lines  with  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley.  Among  its  public 
buildings  are  a  fine  court  house,  one  of  the  largest  Roman  Catholic  cathedrals  in  the 
country,  beside  almost  a  hundred  and  fifty  other  churches,  schools,  colleges,  public  and 
private  institutions  and  a  United  States  arsenal.  There  are  something  near  a  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  people  in  the  city,  a  large  part  of  them  being  either  Irish,  German 
or  English.  Many  bridges  span  both  the  Monongahela  and  the  Allegheny;  six  cross 


398  Cities  of  the  World. 

the  latter  river  to  the  sister  city  of  Allegheny,  which  is  a  part  of  the  "  Smoky  City 
although  it  has  a  separate  government. 

This  now  ranks  as  cne  of  the  chief  manufacturing  places  of  the  "  Keystone  State; 
and  it  is  also  a  favorite  place  for  the  homes  of  many  Pittsburgh  business  men.  Hon 
car  lines  connect  the  cities,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  river  it  would  be  hard  to  tell  whei 
one  ends  and  the  other  begins.  The  Western  Penitentiary  here,  is  the  finest  structui 
in  the  vicinity;  it  is  in  what  is  called  the  Norman  style  of  architecture,  and  usually  hi 
nearly  five  hundred  inmates,  who  are  employed  in  some  mechanical  labor.  Alleghen 
is  the  seat  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  Thee 
logical  Seminary  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  Allegheny  Theologies 
Institute  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church.  The  city  park  is  handsomely  laid  oui 
and  a  favorite  resort.  The  business  here  is  much  like  that  of  Pittsburgh;  it  consist 
mainly  of  rolling  mills  for  iron,  cotton  mills,  foundries,  machine  shops,  breweries 
steel  works,  blast  furnaces,  and  extensive  locomotive  works.  The  water  communication 
by  rivers  and  canals,  and  the  railway  connections,  are  much  the  same,  though  not  s 
extensive  as  those  of  Pittsburgh.  The  population  is  a  little  less  than  eighty  thousand. 

Scranton,  a  city  of  about  forty-six  thousand  people,  is  another  important  Pennsy 
vania  coal  center.  It  is  in  the  Lackawanna  valley,  one  of  the  richest  anthracite  coal  dis 
tricts  in  the  world.  Bordering  it  are  hills  and  mountains  under  which  there  are  hundred 
of  mines  that  .extend  beneath  the  streets  of  the  city.  After  the  coal  is  brought  up  th 
shafts  of  the  mines  to  the  surface,  it  is  loaded  in  long  railway  trains,  and  carried  ovt 
the  hills  to  the  great  manufacturing  centers  of  the  country,  and  the  sea  or  river  port; 
to  be  sent  all  over  the  world.  There  are  many  blast  furnaces  in  Scranton,  beside  rollin 
mills,  foundries  and  machine  shops.  Nearly  half  the  people  are  foreigners,  Irishmer 
Germans,  Welshmen  and  others;  the  miners  spend  the  best  part  of  their  lives  unde 
ground.  Some  of  the  wealthy  and  generous  men  who  have  made  fortunes  from  th 
mines,  have  done  a  great  deal  to  improve  the  city.  Its  schools,  churches,  library 
opera-house  and  public  works  are  good,  and  in  one  part  there  is  an  elegant  park,  whei 
hard-working  men  and  women  and  little  children — for  they  also  have  to  work  in  th 
mines — have  delightful  outings  on  holidays. 

After  Philadelphia,  the  chief  city  of  the  Schuylkill  is  the  iron  manufacturing  center  c 
Reading.  There  are  rich  iron  mines  in  the  surrounding  country,  the  ore  from  which  : 
brought  in  and  used  in  large  furnaces,  rolling  mills,  foundries  and  machine  shops.  The  iro 
is  then  carried  to  other  extensive  factories  that  turn  out  great  quantities  of  iron-ware,  naili 
steam  boilers  and  iron  pipe.  -The  water  power  of  the  river  is  also  utilized  in  large  brie 
yards,  cotton  mills,  hat  factories,  which,  with  hundreds  of  work-shops,  give  employmer 
to  a  large  proportion  of  the  forty-three  thousand  people  living  here.  The  machir 
shops  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  company  alone  employ  three  thousan 
men. 


Harrisburgh —  Wilmington — Newark.  399 

The  capital  of  Pennsylvania  is  Harrisburgh,  a  city  of  over  thirty  thousand  people, 
situated  on  the  Susquehanna  River.  This,  too,  is  a  manufacturing  place,  abounding  in 
coal  and  iron,  busy  with  rolling  mills,  iron  foundries  and  other  Pennsylvania  industries. 
It  is  surrounded  by  the  beautiful  scenery  of  a  fertile  country  and  broad  clear  river,  and 
is  handsomely  laid  out  with  wide  shady  streets,  stately  public  buildings  and  fine  houses. 

There  is  no  State  of  our  Union  that  does  not  do  its  work,  give  its  wealth,  and  play 
its  part  in  the  grand  Republic.  Some  of  them,  however,  are  almost  overshadowed  in 
size  by  their  larger  neighbors.  This  is  the  case  with  Rhode  Island  and  Delaware,  which 
have  been  jokingly  called  the  "Sleeve  Buttons  of  the  United  States."  But  Delaware 
also  bears  the  title  of  the  Diamond  State,  because  although  it  is  small  in  size  it  has  an 
important  place  in  the  Union  for  vegetation  and  commerce.  But  it  has  no  very  large 
cities. 

Wilmington,  which  stands  first,  is  a  town  of  forty-two  thousand  people,  which  is 
less  than  there  are  in  Reading;  and,  drawing  the  line  closely,  it  is  even  smaller  than 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  Wilmington  is  regularly  planned  and  finely  situated  on  the 
high  grounds  between  the  Christiana  and  Brandywine  creeks.  Of  its  churches,  which 
number  nearly  half  a  hundred,  the  "Old  Swedes'  Church"  is  the  most  interesting;  it 
has  stood  since  1698,  and  is  still  used.  Nearly  all  the  buildings  are  of  brick,  which  are 
made  here  in  large  quantities.  The  streets  are  regular,  and  in  some  of  them  there  are 
very  fine-looking  buildings,  especially  the  city  hall,  custom  house,  post  office,  opera- 
house  and  the  public  institute  and  library.  The  commerce  with  the  Atlantic  coast  and 
the  West  Indies  is  large  and  important;  greater  probably  than  the  inland  trade,  although 
there  are  a  number  of  railroad  lines  that  meet  here.  Some  of  the  manufactures  have 
a  national  reputation,  such  as  railway-car  building,  morocco,  carriages,  paper  and  brick- 
making.  Other  industries  are  in  the  iron  works,  boot  and  shoe  factories,  foundries, 
machine-shops  and  places  where  chemicals,  parlor  matches  and  a  number  of  other  things 
are  made.  But  the  leading  trade  is  in  iron  ship-building.  In  this  it  is  greater  than 
any  other  place  in  the  country. 

The  fifteenth  city  of  the  Union,  and  our  most  important  manufacturing  center  after 
Pittsburgh,  is  Newark  in  New  Jersey.  It  leads  particularly  in  making  jewelry,  India 
rubber  goods,  carriages,  paper,  leather  and  machinery.  The  Passaic  flour  mills  pro- 
duce two  thousand  barrels  of  flour  a  day  and  immense  factories  employ  hundreds  of 
men  and  girls  in  making  the  celebrated  Clark  thread. 

Although  Newark  was  settled  by  a  Connecticut  colony  in  1665,  and  has  long  been 
an  important  and  growing  port  and  manufacturing  place'  it  has  now  more  the  appear- 
ance of  an  overgrown  town  than  a  city  whose  population  is  equal  to  that  of  the  United 
States  capital.  It  lies  mainly  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Passaic  River,  which  broadens 
into  Newark  Bay  further  south,  and  is  connected  by  the  Kill  von  Kull  with  New  York 
Harbor.  Both  banks  are  lined  with  docks  and  wharves.  Near  the  river  there  are 


400  Cities  of  the  World. 

nothing  but  docks  and  factories,  some  of  which  are  very  extensive;  but  further  west  1 
long  broad  thoroughfare  of  Broad  Street  extends  the  length  of  the  city  from  north 
south.  In  the  center  of  it  are  the  principal  block  of  stores,  city  buildings,  banks,  offi( 
and  insurance  companies;  and  at  either  end  it  is  lined  with  dwellings,  and  for  the  m 
part  closely  built  up,  but  nearly  everywhere  planted  with  trees. 

The  largest  silk  factories  of  the  United  States  are  located  at  Paterson,  where  a 
some  very  extensive  locomotive  works  are  situated  close  to  the  great  water  power  of  1 
falls  in  the  Passaic  River.  The  stream  surrounds  the  city  on  three  sides,  and  suppl 
it  with  public  water.  There  is  a  small  park  near  the  Falls,  which  tumble  over  a  pre 
pice  fifty  feet  high.  Paterson  has  very  little  attraction  beyond  its  great  manufacturi 
interests,  which  directly  or  indirectly  employ  the  most  of  its  fifty  thousand  people. 

Jersey  City,  like  Brooklyn,  is  in  all  but  -name  a  part  of  New  York  City,  havi 
come  into  existence  by  receiving  the  commerce  and  trade  crowded  out  of  the  metropol 
It  stands  on  the  low  peninsula  opposite  lower  New  York,  once  known  as  Paulus  Ho( 
now  regularly  laid  out  in  wide  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles.  Along  t 
water  front  and  for  some  distance  back,  it  is  made  up  of  docks,  piers,  railroad  termi 
markets,  warehouses  and  stores,  interspersed  with  low  wooden  dwelling  houses,  i 
wholesome  shops  and  a  large  number  of  immense  factories.  On  the  heights  there  i 
handsome  tree-planted  avenues  where  many  New  York  business  men  make  their  horn 
The  population  is  over  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand,  four  times  that  of  Hoboke 
the  adjacent  city  to  the  north.  The  docks  and  piers,  where  vast  quantities  of  frei^ 
are  landed,  where  many  lines  of  ocean  steamers  discharge  their  passengers,  and  seve 
great  ferry  lines  come  in,  extend  along  the  shore  of  both  cities  in  unbroken  lines,  cc 
stantly  half-hidden  by  shipping. 

Hoboken  is  mostly  peopled  by  Germans,  but  in  other  respects  differs  very  lit 
from  Jersey  City,  of  which  it  virtually  forms  a  part.  In  the  northern  part,  upon  a  heij 
of  rock  overlooking  the  river,  stands  Stevens'  Institute,  one  of  the  greatest  polytech 
cal  schools  in  the  country.  An  elevated  railroad  has  just  been  built  from  the  Hobok 
Ferry  to  the  heights,  as  the  cliffs  west  of  the  city  are  called. 

After  Philadelphia  the  greatest  Atlantic  port  for  foreign  goods  is  Baltimore.  It 
reached  from  the  sea  through  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  up  the  bay-like  mouth  of  1 
Patapsco  River.  It  is  the  chief  city  of  Maryland,  great  as  a  port,  a  trading  center 
rail  and  water,  a  seat  of  learning,  and  the  residence  of  some  of  the  most  celebrat 
foreigners  and  Americans  of  the  last  and  the  present  century.  It  stands  around  a  sm 
bay  running  back  from  the  "left  side  of  the  Patapsco,  about  twelve  miles  from  t 
Chesapeake,  and  two  hundred  miles  from  the  open  sea.  A  rapid  little  stream,  call 
"  Jones'  Falls  "  flows  across  the  city,  into  what  is  called  the  North  West  Branch  of  t 
river,  and  divides  old  Baltimore  and  Fell's  Point  on  the  east,  from  new  Baltimore  a 


Baltimore.  40 1 

Spring  Garden  on  the  west.  This  furnishes  immense  water  power  for  manufacturing, 
and  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  drinking  water. 

Spring  Garden,  once  noted  for  its  rowdyism,  is  now  made  up  of  the  poorest  dwell- 
ings; the  new  part  of  the  city,  or  Baltimore  proper,  is  the  center  of  trade  and  the  home 
of  the  wealthiest  citizens.  Its  southern  boundary  along  the  North  West  Branch  is 
lined  with  wharves,  and  in  the  center  many  of  the  broad,  regularly  laid  streets  open  on 
Patterson  Park.  The  principal  public  buildings  are  in  the  center  of  the  city,  just  west 
of  Jones's  Falls,  which  are  crossed  by  a  great  many  bridges.  The  streets  here  are,  for 
the  most  part,  narrower  than  in  New  Baltimore,  and  the  squares,  or  blocks,  are  some- 
what smaller,  but  the  buildings  are  very  fine.  The  most  striking  one  is  the  new  city 
hall;  it  covers  an  entire  square  of  more  than  half  an  acre.  The  walls  and  stately  portico 
are  built  of  brick  and  iron  cased  with  white  marble.  The  fourth  story  is  surmounted 
by  a  mansard  roof  with  a  lofty  dome  and  iron  towers  above.  The  interior  is  well 
adapted  to  public  offices,  and  is  elegantly  furnished.  A  few  squares  to  the  south  is  the 
Custom  House,  near  the  head  of  the  Branch.  The  four  sides  of  this  edifice  are  colon- 
naded, each  column  being  a  single  block  of  Italian  marble.  One  of  Baltimore's  "  lions  " 
is  the  Peabody  Institute,  a  gift  to  the  city  from  that  great  benefactor  to  England  and 
the  United  States,  George  Peabody.  The  Institute  has  a  large  free  library,  an  academy 
of  music,  a  gallery  of  art,  and  rooms  for  the  Maryland  Historical  Society.  It  also 
provides  free  lectures  by  eminent  literary  and  scientific  men.  There  are  few  cities 
better  provided  with  charitable  institutions,  and  all  kinds  of  arrangements  to  benefit 
people,  from  hospitals  and  asylums  for  the  care  of  afflicted,  to  schools,  institutes  and 
libraries  for  education  and  intellectual  advancement.  Mr.  Johns  Hopkins,  a  mer- 
chant of  the  city,  gave  about  seven  million  dollars  toward  a  hospital  and  a  university, 
which  are  among  the  finest  institutions  in  the  country.  The  University  has  seventy 
fellowships  open  to  students  from  any  part  of  the  country,  and  a  still  larger  number 
open  to  young  men  from  Maryland  and  adjacent  States,  and  to  be  gained  by  competi- 
tion. The  main  purpose  of  the  University  is  to  provide  for  and  encourage  higher  edu- 
cation after  students  have  graduated  from  the  regular  colleges.  The  number  of  monu- 
ments that  embellish  Baltimore  in  its  streets  and  parks  and  buildings,  have  won  for  it 
the  name  of  the  Monumental  City.  In  the  extreme  northwest,  seven  hundred  acres  are 
set  aside  for  public  pleasure  grounds  in  Druid  Hill  Park.  It  has  twenty-five  miles  of 
carriage  drives,  and  wonderful  natural  beauty,  including  forests,  lakes  and  lawns. 

Fell's  Point  is  mostly  a  seamen's  resort,  and  a  place  of  manufacturing  and  ship- 
building. This  is  a  leading  industry,  and  the  great  yards  send  out  many  vessels  over 
the  rolling  Chesapeake,  and  past  Fort  McHenry.  It  was  during  an  unsuccessful  bom- 
bardment of  this  defense  by  the  British  in  1814,  that  Francis  Scott  Key,  an  American 
prisoner  on  one  of  the  English  ships,  composed  our  national  hymn  of  "  Star  Spangled 
Banner."  Baltimore  supplies  the  country  with  a  large  amount  of  iron  manufactures, 


402 


Cities  of  the  World. 


wool,  copper,  cotton,  pottery  and  farming  tools,  and  does  considerable  sugar-refining 
distilling,  tanning  and  saddle-making.  There  is  no  better  brick  clay  in  the  world  tha: 
that  found  near  the  city,  and  more  than  a  hundred  million  bricks  are  made  here  am 
sold  every  year.  The  largest  iron  rolling  mills  in  the  United  States  are  the  Abbott  work 
in  the  eastern  section. 

Washington,  our  country's  capital,  although  not  a  large,  is  the  finest  built  cit 
in  the  Union.  It  stands,  with  its  spacious  avenues  and  fine  broad  streets,  where  th 
Potomac  River  receives  the  waters  of  the  Eastern  Branch,  and  takes  its  course  south 
ward  between  Maryland  and  Virginia  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  General  Washingto 
chose  the  site  of  this  undulating  plateau  forty  feet  above  the  broad  Potomac,  and  h 
supervised  the  planning  of  the  city,  which  was  named,  not  by  him,  but  after  him  by  th 


THE   WHITE   HOUSE,   WASHINGTON. 

nation.  He  called  it  the  Federal  City.  The  plan  was  laid  out  after  Versailles  by 
French  engineer,  the  design  being  first  of  broad  streets  crossing  each  other  at  righ 
angles  and  in  regular  order.  The  site  of  the  capitol  was  then  selected  as  the  cente 
from  which  eight  broad  avenues  were  laid  radiating  obliquely  across 'the  checker-boan 
plan;  then  other  squares  and  circles  were  marked  out  and  selected  as  the  radiating  point 
for  more  oblique  avenues,  so  that  all  parts  of  the  capital  should  be  in  direct  connectioi 
with  each  other.  When  the  splendid  plan  was  completed,  and  the  streets  laid  out,  i 
was  a  bare  network,  laughed  at  by  foreigners  and  Americans,  and  Washington  was  de 
risively  called  the  "  City  of  magnificent  distances."  But  out  forefathers  had  won  ; 


404 


Cities  of  -the  World. 


nation  to  themselves,  and  they  were  not  daunted  by  the  work  of  building  up  its  capital; 
and  now,  in  less  than  a  century,  the  magnificent  distances  are  those  of  well-paved  tree- 
planted  streets  and  avenues  flanked  by  majestic  buildings  and  filled  with  the  gayest 
society  in  the  country.  The  streets  from  north  to  south  are  numbered;  those  from  east 
to  west  are  lettered;  and  the  twenty-one  thoroughfares  crossing  these  in  different  direc- 
tions are  avenues  named  after  various  States.  The  chief  point  is  the  Capitol,  which  was 
described  in  1800  as  "  on  an  eminence  near  the  center  of  the  immense  country  called  '  the 
city;' "but  it  is  now  approached  from  all  directions  by  handsome  avenues,  most  of  which 
are  well  built  up,  while  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  hundreds  of  squares  are  rapidly 
lifting  their  solid  blocks  of  architecture  toward  the  sky.  The  Capitol,  standing  on  the 
summit  of  a  terraced  hill,  is  the  most  conspicuous  building  in  the  city.  The  beautifully 


THE   SENATE   CHAMBER,  WASHINGTON. 

proportioned  dome  over  the  center  raises  its  pure  white  head  above  the  stately  wings 
occupied  by  the  two  great  legislative  bodies  of  the  nation.  The  Senate  Chamber,  in  the 
center  of  the  north  wing,  is  plainly  furnished,  but  the  corridors  and  committee  rooms  are 
elaborately  adorned.  The  marble  stairway  is  most  beautiful,  and  the  long  apartment 
in  the  rear  is  constructed  of  the  richest  varieties  of  marble;  and  near  by  are  the  splendid 
room  for  the  President  and  the  plainer  one  of  the  vice-president.  The  hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  in  the  south  wing,  is  said  to  be  the  largest  legislative  chamber  in  the 


Washington.  405 

world.  The  Supreme  Court  now  sits  in  the  old  Senate  Chamber,  and  in  the  fine  old 
hall  of  the  House  there  are  statues  of  distinguished  men  of  the  several  States.  The 
Library  of  Congress  is  in  the  western  projection  of  the  central  building,  and  the  dome 
is  covered  with  magnificent  painting.  A  copy  of  every  copyrighted  publication  in  the 
country  is  sent  to  the  library,  and  it  has  now  become  very  much  overcrowded.  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  the  busiest,  the  finest  and  most  fashionable  in  town,  leads  through  the 
principal  business  quarters  on  the  west  to  the  President's  mansion.  This  is  built  of 
freestone  with  a  semicircle  of  Ionic  columns  on  the  south,  and  a  great  colonnaded  portico 
on  the  north. 

The  British  troops  set  fire  to  it  in  1814,  and  made  its  walls  black  and  unsightly; 
but  they  were  painted  over,  and  from  that  time  the  Executive  Mansion  has  been  called  the 
White  House.  The  rooms  are  most  handsomely  furnished;  some  of  them  are  named 
after  the  color  of  their  fittings.  Twenty  acres  of  ground  around  it  are  enclosed  and 
handsomely  laid  out.  The  massive  building  of  the  United  States  Treasury  faces  the 
White  House  on  the  east,  and  on  the  west  stands  the  granite  structure  devoted  to  the 
State,  War,  and  Navy  Departments.  The  Patent  Office,  the  Post  Office,  and  the  City 
Hall,  are  between  the  Capitol  and  the  President's..House,  above  Pennsylvania  Avenue; 
while  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  one  of  the  greatest  adornments  to  the  city,  and  con- 
taining the  finest  natural  history  museum  in  the  country,  is  situated  below  "The  Avenue," 
as  it  is  called,  and  near  the  National  Museum  and  the  Agricultural  Department.  This 
is  a  brick  and  brown-stone  hall,  with  greenhouses,  graperies  and  grounds  for  agricultural 
experiments  that  cover  ten  acres.  Somewhat  west  of  it,  near  the  bank  of  the  Potomac, 
on  a  line  directly  west  of  the  Capitol  and  south  of  the  Executive  Mansion,  is  the  great 
marble  shaft  of  the  Washington  Monument.  This  is  in  the  form  of  an  obelisk,  fifty- 
five  feet  square  at  the  base,  thirty-four  feet  square  at  the  top,  with  an  apex  above  that 
is  shaped  like  a  pyramid,  and  comes  to  a  point  five  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  above  the 
base.  The  outside  is  all  of  marble  blocks  held  together  by  mason-work,  while  there 
are  a  great  many  iron  clamps  and  braces,  and  a  whole  network  of  stays  inside  to  support 
it.  An  iron  staircase  and  an  elevator  lead  to  the  top,  where  there  is  a  most  extensive 
view  over  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  river  and  the  surrounding  country.  It  is  a 
magnificent  and  fitting  monument  to  the  man  who  was  chief  general  in  our  war  for  in- 
dependence, and  the  first  President  of  our  newly  formed  Union.  The  inside  of  the  shaft 
is  set  with  about  a  hundred  blocks  of  stone  which  have  been  presented  as  a  tribute  to 
Washington's  memory,  from  nearly  every  nation  of  the  earth.  The  United  States 
National  Observatory  is  further  up  on  the  river  bank  between  Washington  and  George- 
town, From  the  flagstaff  on  the  dome  of  the  principal  building  a  signal  ball  is  dropped 
every  day  at  noon,  sending  the  time  instantly  by  telegraph  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

Eastern  City,  as  the  section  on  the  other  side  of  the  Capitol  is  called,  is  less  pre- 


406 


Cities  of  the  World. 


tentiously  built  up  than  the  western  side.  There  are  many  residences  here;  and  in  the 
southern  part  the  marine  barracks  and  Navy  Yard  occupy  a  large  section.  The  Arsena 
is  situated  on  a  little  square  peninsula  south  of  the  Capitol,  at  the  point  where  the  twc 
streams  come  together.  There  are  many  statues  and  other  pieces  of  sculpture  in  various 
squares  and  open  circles;  but  the  chief  attractions  in  art  are  in  the  Corcoran  Gallery, 
which  was  founded  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Corcoran,  a  wealthy  Washington  banker,  who  alsc 
built  the  Louise  Home  for  poor  gentlewomen.  The  benevolent  institutions,  the  schools 
colleges,  institutes  and  public  city  buildings  are  very  many,  and  are  as  well  managed  a; 
they  are  finely  built.  The  population  is  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  made  up 
of  people  of  leisure,  of  merchants  and  tradesmen,  of  government  employees,  of  negroes 


POST    OFFICE    AND    CUSTOM    HOUSE,  CHICAGO. 

and  many  others.  The  climate  in  winter  is  very  fine,  and  as  soon  as  Congress  open; 
the  already  large  number  of  people  in  the  city  is  greatly  increased;  and,  from  then  unti 
the  warm  season  there  is  no  place  in  the  United  States,  unless  it  is  New  York,  that  ii 
so  full  of  life  and  gayety.  The  places  of  amusement  are  all  open;  brilliant  reception; 
are  given,  and  some  of  the  most  beautiful  private  houses  in  the  country  are  opened  t( 
parties  and  fashionable  dinners. 

The  great  city  west  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  is  Chicago;  it  is  the  metropolis  of  th< 
lakes  and  the  center  of  trade  and  travel  between  the  East  and  the  West.  It  is  on  ; 
made  harbor  at  the  southwestern  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  two  branches  of  th< 
Chicago  River.  These  divide  the  city  into  three  divisions,  known  as  the  Northern,  th< 


Chicago. 


407 


Southern,  and  the  Western.      The  southern  stream  is  connected  by  canal  with  the 
Illinois  River  at   La  Salle,  Wisconsin,  making  a  direct  water  communication  with  the 


MICHIGAN    AVENUE    AND    JACKSON    STREET,    CHICAGO. 

Mississippi.     The  harbor  on  the  lake  is  protected  by  magnificent  lines  of  breakwater, 
within  which  there  is  a  large  space  for  extensive  ship-channels  and  docks.     The  lake 


408 


Cities  of  the  World. 


frontage  of  the  city  is  about  eight  miles;  and  its  whole  area  is  thirty -five  square  miles, 
The  river  channels  have  been  so  deepened  that  the  current  was  reversed,  and  the  Lake 
Michigan  waters  flow  into  them.  This  improved  the  navigation  very  much,  and  carries 
off  the  city  sewage  toward  the  Illinois  River  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  an  hour.  The  peopk 


CENTRAL    MUSIC    HALL,  STATE    AND    RANDOLPH    STREETS,  CHICAGO. 

suffered  many  attacks  of  fever  from  the  low  marshy  situation  of  the  city,  so  at  about  th 
time  of  the  river  improvements  the  level  of  the  city  was  raised  by  one  of  the  most  skillft 
pieces  of  engineering  that  was  ever  tried.  Block  after  block  of  heavy  buildings,  in 
eluding  some  of  the  largest  hotels  and  stores,  were  raised  from  eight  to  ten  feet  by  jack 
screws,  worked  by  steam  power.  Its  lowest  grade  is  now  fourteen  feet  above  the  lake 
Chicago  is  regularly  laid  out;  the  principal  avenues  run  parallel  with  Michigan' 


Cities  of  the  World. 


LASALLE    STREET    TUNNEL,    CHICAGO. 

duce  from  garden,  orchard,  field  and  stream, 
block  the  sidewalk.  State  Street  is  the  great 
shopping  thoroughfare,  and  on  any  fair  after- 
noon pedestrians  and  carriages  fill  it  with  a  gay 
throng  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  beautiful 
ladies  in  the  great  Illinois  capital.  Michigan 
Avenue,  Wabash  Avenue  and  State  Street,  are 
all  given  up  to  wholesale  houses  near  the  river, 
but  further  up  their  character  changes.  The 
first  becomes  Michigan  Avenue  Boulevard,  lined 
with  some  beautiful  and  picturesque  city  man- 
sions. The  County  Court  House  and  City  Hall 
is  a  massive  and  elaborate  building.  It  occu- 
pies a  large  block  in  the  heart  of  South  Side, 
towering  in  majestic  proportions  and  handsome 
diversified  stories  of  buttresses,  colonnades,  and 
caryatides  far  above  the  bustling  streets  where 
men  rush  up  and  down  in  haste,  and  all  kinds 
of  vehicles  go  tearing  by.  Another  imposing 
structure  is  the  brick  and  stone  work  of  the 


shore,  the  streets  are  generally  eighty  feet 
wide,  and  some  of  them  are  from  three  tc 
seven  miles  long;  the  paving  is  often  ol 
wood,  cinders  or  gravel;  for  stone  is  very 
scarce.  The  various  divisions  are  connect- 
ed by  several  bridges,  and  a  stone  tunnei 
under  the  bed  of  each  river;  street-cars  rur 
this  way  and  that  in  almost  every  direction, 
The  business  part  of  town  is  mainly  in  the 
southern  division,  or  the  South  Side;  anc 
here,  too,  are  the  chief  public  buildings,  the 
hotels  and  retail  stores.  Within  a  space  o: 
about  ten  blocks  square  nearly  all  the  whole 
sale  business  and  a  large  part  of  the  retai 
trade  is  carried  on.  South  Water  Street, 
which  lies  next  to,  and  parallel  with  the 
main  branch  of  Chicago  River,  is  the  seat  o: 
the  commission  business.  Trucks,  vans  anc 
carts  throng  the  roadway,  and  boxes  of  pro- 


WABASH   AVENUE  AND   MADISON   STREET. 


1 C I  tic  ago. 


411 


Criminal  Court  and  County  Jail,  but  even  this  cannot  compare  with  the  Government 
Buildings,  as  the  Post  Office  and  Custom  House  is  called.  This  cost  six  million  dol- 
lars. The  Post  Office  occupies  the  basement  and  the  first  floor,  in  the  center  of  which 
there  is  an  immense  court,  covered  with  a  great  sky-light  at  the  second  floor,  and 
open  above.  The  upper  stories  are  fitted  up  as  government  offices.  The  interior 
of  the  whole  building  is  very  richly  finished.  The  floors  are  all  laid  with  black  and 
white  marble.  The  grand  staircases  in  the  north  and  south  halls  are  of  artistic  iron 


CHICAGO    BOARD    OF   TRADE    BUILDING;  JACKSON,  PACIFIC    AND    SHERMAN    STREETS. 

work,  with  steps  laid  in  small  parti-colored  tiles.  All  the  street  railways  start  from  this 
part  of  town,  and  radiate  toward  all  the  well-built-up  quarters.  The  great  East  and 
West  street  is  Madison;  it  is  splendidly  paved  and  lined  with  wholesale  and  retail  es- 
tablishments in  the  eastern  portion,  which  is  in  South  Division;  and  in  the  West  Side  it 
is  the  principal  retail  street.  The  street  extends  westward  from  the  lake  till  it  is  finally 
lost  in  a  rough  roadway  of  the  open  prairie.  The  West  Side  is  the  chief  manufacturing 


412 


Cities  of  the  World. 


district,  here  are  nearly  all  the  great  machinery  shops,  steam-engine  works  and  boile 
factories.  There  are  hundreds  of  Irish,  German  and  other  foreign  shop  dealers  hen 
and  blocks  of  dingy  wooden  houses  that  escaped  the  great  fire.  Milwaukee  Avenue  : 
almost  wholly  occupied  by  Germans,  and  the  poor-looking  buildings  here,  like  the  peopli 


CHICAGO    TRIBUNE    BUILDING;    MADISON    AND    DEARBORN    STREETS. 

have  a  foreign  appearance.  Street  cars  crossing  this  part  of  the  West  Side  lead  direct 
to  the  Union  Stock  Yards.  This  is  the  center  of  the  greatest  live  stock  trade  in  tl 
world.  The  yards  comprise  a  large  tract  partly  covered  by  sheds  and  pens,  and  havir 


Chicago. 


413 


stable-room  enough  for  fifteen  hundred  horses.  In  all  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
head  of  stock  can  be  accommodated  within  this  tract.  All  important  railroads  that 
enter  Chicago  have  connections  here,  and  the  company  has  a  hundred  miles  of  track,  in- 
cluding switches,  to  aid  in  the  ship- 
ment of  stock.  Telegraph,  post  and 
banking  offices  are  right  at  hand,  and 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  there  are 
over  thirty  extensive  packing  houses. 
The  offices  of  the  company  and  of  the 
numerous  firms  engaged  in  the  live- 
stock trade,  are  in  the  building  known 
as  Exchange  Hall.  There  is  a  better 
portion  of  the  West  Side,  where  there 
are  fine  dwellings,  churches  and  lines 
of  shade  trees,  interspersed  with  bright 
little  parks;  and  so  it  is  with  North 
Side;  the  streets  lying  near  the  river 
are  crowded  with  busy  working  peo- 
ple, with  factories  and  commission 
houses  in  hides,  and  leathers  and 
wool;  with  a  foreign  population  chiefly 
Scandinavian  and  German;  and  fur- 
ther up,  proud  mansions  and  artistic 
little  houses  fill  the  avenues  and 
streets.  These  houses  are  better  built 
than  a  great  many  in  the  city;  they 
are  of  red  pressed  brick  and  of  stone, 
varying  in  color  and  style,  so  that 
there  is  no  appearance  of  sameness; 
the  houses  are  built  separately,  not  in 
blocks.  Although  the  "divisions" 
are  but  parts  of  the  one  great  city, 
there  is  considerable  rivalry  among 
them,  which  has  its  good  results  as 
well  as  otherwise. 

Beside  the  small  green  squares  scattered  plentifully  throughout  the  interior  of  the 
city,  there  is  a  magnificent  system  of  parks  and  boulevards  almost  encircling  it  on  the 
outskirts.  This  is  a  chain  of  parks  named  after  great  men.  On  the  North  Side,  it 
begins  with  Lincoln  Park;  on  the  West  Side,  lie  Humboldt,  Garfield  and  Douglas 


NORTH    SIDE    WATER    WORKS    TOWER,  CHICAGO. 


4H 


Cities  of  the  World. 


Parks,  and,  completing  the  crescent,  are  Washington,  Jackson  and  Gage  Parks,  an 
midway,  Pleasance,  just  outside  the  city  limits  on  South  Side.  This  circlet  of  pleasur 
grounds  and  pleasant  breathing  places  is  linked  together  by  boulevards,  gradually  bein 
occupied  by  handsome  grounds  and  stately  architecture.  Most  of  the  boulevards  ar 
bordered  with  magnificent  elms  set  in  grassy  strips  between  the  sidewalks  and  the  curbing 
The  oldest  and  best  known  of  the  parks  is  Lincoln,  which  stretches  along  the  lake  shor 
for  about  a  mile  and  a  half  on  the  North  Side.  It  covers  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  an< 
is  full  of  beauty  and  variety,  with  an  infinite  number  of  fine  drives  and  promenades 


PALMER   HOUSE;   STATE   AND    MONROE   STREETS,  CHICAGO. 

with  a  view  of  Lake  Michigan  and  two  good  sized  artificial  lakes  in  the  interior  fc 
boating  and  skating.  The  zoological  gardens  have,  beside  the  collection  of  in- 
ported  animals,  some  fine  specimens  of  prairie  dogs,  buffaloes  and  wolves  from  th 
western  prairie,  that  are  highly  interesting  to  boys  and  girls  from  the  East.  Humbolc 
Park  is  further  north  than  any  other,  and  although  it  is  a  little  smaller  and  is  not  s 
great  a  popular  resort  as  Lincoln,  it  is  in  another  way  most  delightful.  Groups  of  tree 
show  between  lawns  and  meadows  made  out  of  the  open  prairie,  and  border  lovely  lake 
dotted  with  boats  and  overlooked  by  gay  pavilions.  The  center  of  attraction  in  Garfiel 
Park  are  the  medicinal  waters  of  the  artesian  well.  Each  of  these  pleasure  grounds  ha 
its  own  attractiveness  and  beauty.  All  have  delightful  walks  and  drives,  shady  grove 


St.  Louis. 


415 


and  many  other  devices  to  afford  rest  and  pleasure  to  the  people  of  the  great  busy  city. 
The  population  is  growing  very  fast,  and  rivals  New  York  in  its  energy  and  push.  Fine 
public  improvements  are  being  carried  on  all  the  time;  the  schools,  colleges  and  special 
institutes  are  some  of  the  best  in  the  country.  Chicago  has  about  six  hundred  thousand 
people — as  many  as  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Next  to  it,  with  about  one  thousand  less,  comes  St.  Louis  in  Missouri.  It  is 
the  chief  city  and  commercial  depot  of  the  central  Mississippi  valley;  made  up  of 
an  old  town  and  a  new,  it  is  finely  situated  on  the  Father  of  Waters,  a  mile  below 


CUSTOM    HOUSE    AND    POST    OFFICE,  ST.   LOUIS. 

the  entrance  of  the  Missouri.  There  was  a  great  fire  in  1849,  tnat  destroyed  many  of 
the  wooden  buildings  of  the  old  town  near  the  river,  and  as  the  rebuilding  was  done 
chiefly  in  limestone  the  narrow,  crooked  streets  entirely  used  for  trade  have  a  very  sub- 
stantial appearance. 

Every  city  has  its  characteristics,  and  its  common  features.  St.  Louis'  peculiar 
characteristic  is  the  river,  with  its  eighteen  miles  of  commercial  frontage,  lined  with 
boats  and  smoking  with  mills  and  foundries,  and  its  magnificent  levee.  This  is  a  very 
wide  space  paved  with  Belgian  blocks,  and  a  gradual  incline  sloping  to  the  water.  Here 


416 


Cities  of  the  World. 


enormous  quantities  of  all  kinds  of  goods  are  landed  and  given  temporary  storeroon 
or  shipped  to  all  the  important  places  along  six  thousand  miles  of  navigable  water: 
with  which  the  city  is  in  direct  communication.  There  are  no  regular  wharves  on  th 
levee,  but  bridges  run  out  to  landing  stages  moored  a  short  distance  off,  so  as  to  ris 
and  fall  with  the  tide.  Front  street,  extending  along  the  levee,  is  full  of  trucks  an 
produce  wagons,  laborers,  porters  and  a  constant  throng  of  working  people.  Th 


COURT    HOUSE,  ST.  LOUIS. 

levee  is  packed  with  bags  and  bales,  wagons  and  kegs,  and  the  wagons  that  transpor 
them.  Alongside  lie  the  boats, — side-wheelers  and  stern-wheelers,  packets,  barges 
tugs,  flat-boats  and  dredge-boats;  most  of  them  built  with  many  decks,  like  floatinj 
pavilions.  Up  stream  there  are  two  great  brick  German  breweries,  and  countless  mill 
and  foundries,  making  a  little  village  of  themselves,  with  a  host  of  small  shops  and  poo 
dwellings. 

The  streets  are  numbered  west  from  the  levee,  and  mount  a  steady  rise  of  groun< 


6V.  Louis. 


417 


back  from  the  river.  Fourth  Street  is  lined  with  large,  handsome  stores,  and  here  the 
greatest  retail  trade  is  carried  on  and  the  most  interesting,  gay  crowds  of  people  are  to 
be  seen.  The  roadway  is  crowded,  and  through  it  the  cars  of  two  horse  railways  are 
constantly  running.  Some  of  the  great  hotels  are  here.  Others  stand  among  the  large 
wholesale  establishments  of  Fifth  Street,  along  with  the  Olympic  theater,  the  St.  Louis 
Times  building,  Mercantile  Library  Hall,  Union  Market  and  the  Round  Top  Market. 
The  city  is  divided  into  northern  and  southern  St.  Louis  by  Market  Street,  one  of  the 


LINDELL   HOTEL,  ST.  LOUIS. 

busiest  of  the  trade  streets,  and  the  location  of  the  best  public  buildings.  Here  is  the 
massive,  dignified  Court  House,  on  whose  classical  looking  steps  slaves  were  once  sold 
at  auction;  the  Grand  Opera  House,  City  Hall,  and  other  notable  structures,  built  for 
the  most  part  of  a  beautiful  soft  gray  colored  limestone  or  a  red  sandstone,  which  give 
the  city  streets  a  gay  and  also  a  tasteful,  artistic  appearance.  Washington  Avenue  leads 
to  the  Bridge,  through  lines  of  large  wholesale  houses  and  palatial  residences.  Here, 
too,  are  the  Lindell  and  several  other  large  hotels,  the  Catholic  University,  Smith's 
Academy,  Washington  University,  and  churches,  hospitals,  club-houses,  and  other  note- 
worthy places.  It  has  been  said  that  more  good  buildings  can  be  seen  from  about  the 
27 


4i8 


Cities  of  the  World. 


corners  of  Fourth  or  Fifth  street  and  Washington  Avenue  than  anywhere  else     The' 
are  five-storied,  substantial,  and  in  some  cases  beautifully  ornamented.     The  bridge  i 


FOURTH  ST.  LOOKING  NORTH  FROM  CHESTNUT. 

about  two  thousand  and  fifty  feet  long,  without  counting  the  approaches,  and  is  one  oi 
Captain  Eads'  great  pieces  of  engineering.     Its  great  arches  span  the  waters  to  the  is- 


•5V.  Louis. 


419 


land  now  called  East  St.  Louis,  where  there  are  many  extensive  store-houses  and  depots. 
The  view  of  stream  and  city  from  the  bridge  is  extensive  and  full  of  life  and  variety. 
The  city  is  seen  to  rise  gently  from  the  water  in  three  terraces.  The  dense  commercial 
quarters  first,  then  the  fine  thoroughfares  and  stately  buildings  belonging  to  general 
trade  and  public  works,  creeping  up  to  the  clusters  of  residences  which  occupy  the  last 
terrace  in  the  handsome  surburb  of  Cote  Brilliante.  This  is  about  two  hundred  feet- 
high  and  four  miles  back.  The  streets  going  westward  up  this  rise  between  Washington 


REPUBLICAN    BUILDING,  ST.  LOUIS. 

Avenue  on  the  north  and  Pine  Street  on  the  south,  are  built  up  with  comfortable  dwell- 
ings, while  on  some  of  the  cross  avenues  the  mansions  are  quite  elegant  in  appearance. 
But  on  the  whole  St.  Louis  houses  show  more  of  a  desire  for  comfort  than  elegance, 
which  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Germans  at  home  or  abroad.  This  is  one  of  the  largest 
German  cities  of  the  West,  and  in  summer-time  looks  very  much  like  a  transplanted  city 
of  the  Fatherland.  The  bridge  is  crowded  with  promenaders;  open-air  gardens  are 
opened  and  summer  theaters,  decorated  with  plants,  and  furnished  with  music  and  re- 
freshments. The  sidewalks  in  front  of  the  principal  restaurants  are  filled  with  groups 


420 


Cities  of  the  World. 


of  people  gathered  around  little  tables;    they  chat,  sip  refreshments  and  enjoy  them 

selves  till  their  rooms  have  cooled  and  the} 
can  go  home  and  pass  a  comfortable  night 
Among  the  regular  resorts  about  th( 
city,  the  Fair  Grounds — a  beautiful  parl 
and  zoological  garden — always  has  a  large 
gay  crowd,  especially  during  the  Fair  week 
Forest  Park  is  a  tract  of  nearly  fifteen  hun 
dred  acres  of  wooded  rural  ground,  am 
beyond  it  is  Shaw's  Garden.  This  is  opei 
to  the  public  by  the  generosity  of  Mr 
Henry  Shaw,  to  whose  private  domain  thi 
lovely  stretch  of  flower-beds,  conservato 
ries,  rare  trees  and  valuable  plants,  with  ; 
museum  and  botanical  library  belong;  tin 
Lower  Grove,  a  long  handsome  'strip  o 
land  adjoining,  Mr.  Shaw  has  presented  t< 
the  city.  Lafayette  Park  is  a  square  abou 
as  large  and  of  much  the  same  sort  a 
Boston  Common,  surrounded  by  aristocrati- 
houses.  Beside  its  immense  water  facilities 
St.  Louis  is  the  center  for  sixteen  lines  o 
railway,  some  of  them  being  the  main  road 
of  the  country.  The  chief  use  of  thesi 
roads  is  for  shipment  of  the  articles  manu 
factured  in  the  city.  New  York  and  Phila 
delphia  are  the  only  places  in  America  tha 


produce  greater  quantities  of  general  arti 


OPERA   HOUSE,  ST.  LOUIS. 

cles;  and  in  flour-making  St.  Louis 
leads  the  whole  country. 

Cincinnati,  on  the  Ohio 
River,  and  the  chief  city  of  the 
State  of  Ohio,  is  a  famous  place  for 
pork.  "  Porkopolis,"  or  city  of  pork, 
it  is  sometimes  called,  as  the  killing 
and  packing  of  hogs  is  the  chief 
business.  Nearly  a  million  are 
killed  every  year — more  than  in  any  other  place  except  Chicago.  There  are  great  fact 
ories  of  other  things  too,  especially  for  beer  making.  Most  of  the  breweries  are  in  ; 


Cleveland. 


421 


part  of  the  city  called  "  Over  the  Rhine,"  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Germans.  The 
population  of  Cincinnati  is  about  the  same  as  St.  Louis,  and  one  quarter  of  the  people 
are  Germans.  The  city  is  surrounded  by  beautiful  hills,  and  the.  river  flowing  by  it  is 
crossed  by  two  fine  bridges.  The  plan  of  the  streets  and  squares  is  much  like  that  of 
Philadelphia;  the  roads  are  usually  paved  or  macadamized,  planted  with  trees,  and  sub- 
stantially built  up  with  brick. 


SOUTHERN    HOTEL,  ST.   LOUIS.  _ 

Bancroft  Library 

Next  to  the  Porkopolis  of  Ohio  is  the  Forest  City  of  Cleveland.  It  has  a  popula- 
tion of  about  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  people,  whose  interest  is  centered 
chiefly  in  the  great  petroleum  refineries,  or  in  commercial  and  other  business  brought  over 
Lake  Erie,  and  extending  up  the  Cuyahoga  River,  which  empties  here.  Cleveland  is 
one  of  the  best  ports  on  the  lake;  the  trade  in  coal,  iron  ore,  petroleum  and  grain  being 
very  large;  and  the  river  supplies  water  power  for  factories  for  making  sulphuric  acid, 
railroad  cars,  farmers'  tools  and  other  valuable  articles  of  shipment.  The  center  of  the 
regular  lines  of  tree-lined  streets  crossing  at  right  angles  is  Monumental  Park,  beauti- 
fully shaded  and  carefully  kept.  The  handsomest  portion  of  town  is  on  the  high  sandy 


422 


Cities  of  the  World. 


bluff  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  On  the  other  bank  there  is  another  fine  park  callec 
the  Circle;  this  has  a  beautiful  fountain  in  the  center.  The  public  improvements 
charitable  institutions  and  city  buildings,  schools  and  churches  of  Cleveland  are  of  re 
markable  excellence. 

Next  in  population  among  western  cities  is  Louisville,  Kentucky,  of  about  ; 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  It  is  the  largest  city  of  the  State,  and  nearly  the  size  o 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  like  it,  rests  on  a  plain,  with  hills  in  the  background  and  ; 
river — the  Ohio — in  front.  The  stream  on  which  Louisville  stands,  is  here  broken  intc 
rapids,  making  a  fine  water  power,  that  is  as  yet  little  used.  An  important  business  ii 
sugar-curing  hams  and  pork  packing,  while  no  place  in  the  world  has  such  quantities  o 


THE   ST.  LOUIS   BRIDGE. 

leaf-tobacco  as  are  brought  in  and  shipped  from  here  to  Germany,  France,  England, 
Canada  and  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  best  harbor  on  any  of  the  great  lakes  is  at  Detroit,  Michigan.  This  is  parl 
of  the  Detroit  River,  which  receives  the  waters  of  Lake  St.  Clair  above,  and  empties  intc 
Lake  Erie,  eighteen  miles  below.  The  river  is  very  deep  and  broad  here,  and  the  city 
— the  largest  in  Michigan — extends  along  its  banks  for  six  or  seven  miles.  The  water 
front  is  crowded  with  warehouses,  mills,  foundries,  grain  elevators,  railway  stations,  ship- 
yards and  dry  docks,  telling  you  at  first  glance  what  branches  of  trade  bring  wealth  to 
the  people  who  live  here.  The  shipping  interests  are  mostly  with  United  States  ports 
on  the  Lakes  and  with  Canada,  which  lies  on  the  other  shore  of  the  river.  Detroit  is  a 
great  northern  railway  center  and  transfer  station,  and  one  of  our  most  important 
lumber  markets.  The  streets  are  remarkably  broad,  the  business  houses  are  solid  and 


Milwaukee. 


423 


imposing,  and  some  of  the  dwellings,  surrounded  by  gardens  and  shaded  by  trees,  are 
elegant  and  costly.  A  very  large  part  of  the  population,  which  is  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand,  are  foreigners,  chiefly  Germans. 

A  port  of  about  the  same  size  and  importance  on  Lake  Michigan  is  M ilka u wee, 
the  largest  city  in  Wisconsin.  The  harbor  and  town  are  always  full  of  life  and  activity, 
especially  around  the  wharves  and  the  grain  and  flour  warehouses.  This  is  the  greatest 
wheat  market  in  the  world,  and  is  the  port  of  shipment  for  the  agricultural  products  of 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  The  business  center  is  in  the  heart  of  the  city  along 


GOLDEN    GATE,   SAN   FRANCISCO. 

the  Milwaukee  and  Menomonee  rivers.  The  Milwaukee  gives  excellent  water  power 
for  manufacturing;  the  mills  are  situated  on  a  ship  canal  running  alongside,  and  their 
wares  are  loaded  directly  into  the  lake-going  steamers.  Iron  and  rolling  mills  are  the 
most  numerous  and  important;  after  them  come  extensive  flour  mills,  breweries  and 
tanneries.  The  higher  parts  on  the  east  and  west  are  occupied  by  dwelling  houses. 
Nearly  all  the  buildings  are  of  cream-colored  brick,  manufactured  in  the  neighborhood. 
This  makes  the  most  ordinary  parts  of  the  city  look  handsome;  while  the  Court-house 
of  sandstone,  the  Custom-house  and  the  Post-office  both  of  marble,  and  some  others  of 
the  more  pretentious  buildings  are  really  elegant. 


424 


Cities  of  the  World. 


The  metropolis  of  North  America's  Pacific  slope  is  San  Francisco.  It  is  the  capl 
tal  and  largest  city  in  California,  with  one  of  the  finest  and  most  beautiful  harbors  ir 
the  world.  The  entrance  from  the  ocean  is  through  a  passage  about  a  mile  wide,  callec 
the  Golden  Gate.  This  is  between  the  long  peninsula  occupied  by  the  city  and  an  arrr 
of  land  that  runs  down  on  the  north;  together  these  form  the  barrier  separating  the 


NOB   HILL,  SAN    FRANCISCO. 

open  sea  from  the  river  mouths  that  form  the  bay.  San  Francisco  owes  its  importance 
to  this  harbor,  which  is  visited  by  hundreds  of  ships  from  the  Oriental  countries,  from 
Europe,  and  ports  on  both  sides  the  American  continent.  The  foreign  trade  is  verj 
large.  The  principal  things  sent  out  are  grain,  flour,  wool,  wines  and  quicksilver;  the 
chief  imports  are  tea  from  China,  lumber  from  Oregon,  coal  from  Australia,  Van- 
couver's Island  and  England,  and  sugar,  rice  and  coffee  from  various  countries.  There 
is  also  a  very  great  trade  by  the  Pacific  Railroad,  which  has  its  western  end  near  the 
city.  The  plan  of  these  great  overland  railways,  binding  the  Union  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
and  connecting  the  interests  of  all  our  States,  was  laid  here  at  the  times  when  acts  of 
secession  were  passed  at  the  opposite  seaboard.  Many  of  the  great  mines  of  California  and 
Nevada  are  owned  by  San  Francisco  merchants, some  of  whom  are  among  the  richest  men  in 


San  Francisco. 


425 


the  world.  The  city  of  'Frisco, 
as  it  is  often  called,  occupies  the 
peninsula  that  lies  between  the 
harbor  and  the  sea,  which  was 
barren  and  rocky,  but  has  been 
levelled  and  improved  by  much 
skill  and  great  expense.  The 
streets  are  laid  out  in  regular 
squares,  closely  built  up  in  the 
business  portion,  but  quite 
scattered  in  other  places.  The 
fashionable  promenades  are 
lined  with  the  leading  retail 
stores;  and  in  about  a  dozen 
streets  the  buildings  are  re- 
markably fine  and  substantial, 
but  in  other  quarters  the  arch- 
itecture is  of  wood,  sometimes 
lavishly  ornamented.  Every- 
thing has  a  brisk,  prosperous 
appearance,  and  the  people  are 
full  of  energy  and  push.  There 
are  no  shade  trees,  but  the 
yards  around  the  better  houses 
are  quite  gorgeous  in  flowers 
and  evergreens.  A  great  many 
of  the  people,  even  in  families, 
live  at  the  hotels.  So  there  are 
a  great  many  very  fine  estab- 
lishments throughout  the  city. 
The  Palace  Hotel  is  said  to  be 
the  largest  and  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  in  the  world,  and 
many  others  are  both  stately  in 
appearance  and  luxuriously  ar- 
ranged. The  most  interesting 
quarter  of  the  city  is  Chinatown. 
Here  twenty  thousand  China- 


CHINESE    QUARTER,    SAN    FRANCISCO. 


426  Cities  of  the  World. 

men  are  crowded  into  a  limited  space,  and  live  as  they  do  at  home.  Their  nation; 
customs  have  all  been  imported,  from  every-day  living  with  chop-sticks  for  knife  an 
fork,  to  the  pagoda-like  theaters  and  joss-houses,  with  opium  dens  and  gamblin 
houses. 

This  is  an  important  flour  market;  large  exports  are  made  of  tobacco  and  otlu 
products,  and  immense  numbers  of  oysters  from  the  Chesapeake  are  carried  here  an 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  chief  city  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  and  our  main  port  for  the  Gulf  of  Mexicc 
is  New  Orleans,  once  capital  of  Louisiana.  In  size  and  population  it  is  the  ninth  cit 
of  the  Union,  but  in  the  value  of  its  exports  and  foreign  commerce,  it  comes  next  t 
New  York.  It  comprises  about  forty  square  miles;  but  one  half  of  these  is  little  bette 


CITY    HALL,  SAN    FRANCISCO. 

than  a  swamp;  the  other  half  is  closely  inhabited.  There  are  altogether  about  tw< 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  here,  a  mingled  gathering  of  Americans  and  Germans 
French,  Italians,  Spanish  and  Irish.  Most  of  the  streets  running  parallel  to  the  rive 
extend  for  about  twelve  miles  in  unbroken  lines;  while  the  cross  streets  run  at  righ 
angles  to  these  from  the  river  to  the  lake.  Those  in  the  new  parts  are  wide,  borderec 
with  trees,  and  Canal  Street  has  many  handsome  stores  and  dwellings.  As  New  Orlean 
is  built  on  rather  a  long,  narrow  strip  along  the  curves  of  the  river,  it  has  an  S  shape;  bu 
at  one  time  it  was  only  extensive  enough  to  follow  the  outer  curve,  from  which  it  re 
ceived  the  name  of  the  Crescent  City.  The  streets  have  ditches  running  through  them 
by  which  the  drainage  is  carried  off  in  the  freshet  season;  but  they  are  unsightly,  and  i 
is  said,  unhealthful  at  all  other  times.  There  are,  beside  these,  a  number  of  canals  fo: 
business  use  in  the  city  connecting  with  some  of  the  fifteen  markets.  There  is  mor< 
cotton  sold  here  than  in  any  other  city  in  America,  and  very  extensive  trade  is  alsc 
carried  on  in  sugar  and  rice.  The  wharves  at  the  river  levee  are  always  crowded  witl 


New  Orleans. 


427 


cotton  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley,  where  it  is  packed  into 
bales  by  great  presses,  and  loaded  on  vessels  to  be  sent  to  Europe  and  the  Northern 
States.  Sugar  is  stored  in  immense  sugar-sheds,  where  it  is  heaped  up  like  coal  in  a 
coal  yard.  Between  Christmas  and  Lent  the  greatest  carnival  in  the  United  States  is 


NEW    ORLEANS. 

held  here.  The  grand  procession  takes  place  on  Mardi  Gras,  or  Shrove  Tuesday,  when 
hundreds  of  people,  dressed  to  look  like  animals,  goblins  and  all  sorts  of  fantastic 
creatures,  march  through  the  streets  with  music  and  torches,  and  setting  off  fire-works 
as  they  go  along.  Beside  this,  the  festival  is  kept  up  in  balls,  parties,  concerts  and 
other  masqueradings  outdoors  and  in. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


RUSSIA: — 

St.  Petersburg 9 

"          Street  Scene        .     .  10 

"          The  Neva       ...  1 1 

"          Exchange       ...  12 

"          Academy  of  Sciences  14 

Moscow,  Kremlin 13 

"        Statue  Peter  the  Great  15 

"         Czar  Kolokol      ...  16 

"         Church  in      ....  17 

"         Great  Theater    ...  18 

'•         Winter  Palace     ...  19 

Nijni  Novgorod 21 

Russian  Types 23 

Riga .     .  24 

Penal  Colony 26 

Odessa 27 

ENGLAND: — 

London  Bridge 31 

'*  Waterloo  Bridge  ...  32 
"  Houses  of  Parliament  .  33 
"  Westminster  Abbey .  .  35 
"  Royal  Exchange  .  .  ".  37 
"  St.  James's  Palace  Gate  38 
"  New  Law  Courts  .  .  39 
"  Museum,  South  Ken- 
sington    41 

"       St.  Paul's  Church     .     .  42 

"       Tower  of  St.  Paul's       .  44 

"       Interior  of  St.  Paul's     .  45 


ENGLAND  : — 

London,  Tower  of 47 

Liverpool,  Prince's  Landing      .  46 

"          Strand  Street    ...  48 
"          Brown   Free  Library 

and  Museum      .     .  49 
"          Perch  Rock  Light     .  50 
Manchester,  Free  Trade  Hall    .  5 1 
"           The  Assize  Courts  52 
"           Interior  Royal  Ex- 
change ....  53 
"           Royal  Exchange    .  54 
Birmingham,      King      Edward 

School.     ...  55 

"  Town  Hall  ...  56 

"  White  Cloth  Hall .  57 

Bradford,  Town  Hall  ....  58 

Rugby,  School  Days     ....  59 

Cambridge,   Bridge,    St.    John's 

College  ....  60 

"          Senate  House     .     .  61 
FRANCE; — 

Paris,  Along  the  Seine  ....  62 

Old  Paris 63 

Paris,  Arc  De  L'Etoile     ...  64 

y       Boulevard  Saint  Michel  .  65 

"       Boulevard  Montmartre    .  65 

*'       Hotel  Des  Invalides  .     .  67 

"       Napoleon's  Tomb  ...  67 

"       Palace  of  Industry      .     .  69 


430 


Illustrations. 


FRANCE: — 

Paris,  Place  de  la  Concorde  .     .  70 

"       Interior  of  the  Madeleine  71 

"       The  Madeleine  ....  71 

"       Place  Vendome  ....  72 

"       Garden  of  the  Tuileries  .  73 

The  Louvre 74 

"       Gallery  in  the  Louvre     .  74 

"       Bridge  of  Arts   ....  75 

"       Pont  au  Change     ...  76 
"       Rue  de  Rivoli  and  Tower 

of  St.  Jacques     ...  77 

"       Palais  Royal  Place      .     .  78 

"       Palais  Royal  Garden  .     .  79 
"       Interior   of    the    Bourse 

(Stock  Exchange)    .     .  80 

"       Theatre  Franfaise  ...  81 

"       Opera  House     ....  82 
"       Grand    Staircase,    Opera 

House 83 

"       Saint  Denis  Gate    ...  84 

"       Saint  Martin  Gate  ...  84 

"       Sewers 85 

"       The  Catacombs       ...  85 

"       Halles  Centrales     ...  86 

"       Notre  Dame 87 

"       Hotel  Dieu 88 

"       Tribunal  of  Commerce    .  89 

Hotel  DeVille  .     ...  91 

"       Types  and  Costumes  .     .  92 

"       Belle  Jardiniere     ...  93 

"       New  Bridge 93 

Lyons 94 

Marseilles 97 

"         Longchamps  Fountain  99 
' "         Notre     Dame    de    la 

Garde 100 

Nimes,  Amphitheater  .     .     .     .  101 


FRANCE  : — 

Nimes,  Maison  Carrie  .  .  . 
Bordeaux  ....... 

Havre 

Rouen,  Palace  of  Justice 
GERMANY: — 

Berlin,  Thiergarten  .... 
"  The  Schloss  .... 
"  Emperor's  Palace  . 
"  Street  Scene  .... 
•'  Cafe"  Scene  .... 
"  Frederick  Street  .  .  . 

Hamburg,  Canal 

'  Marketwoman     .     . 

"  Spring  Floods     . 

Munich,    The    "  Bavaria "    and 

Hall  of  Fame 

Frankfort,  Luther's  House  .  . 
Cologne,  Bridge  of  Boats  .  . 
Leipsic,  Town  Hall  .... 

Heidelberg, 

SCANDINAVIA: — 

Copenhagen  

Swedish  Types  and  Costumes   . 
NETHERLANDS: — 

Amsterdam   ....... 

Rotterdam 

Holland,  Street  Scene      .     .     . 
BELGIUM: — 

Quay 

Home  Work 

Brussels,  Town  Hall  .... 
Bruges,  Street  Scene  .... 

Belfry 

Ypres,  Town  Hall 

SWITZERLAND: — 

Jungfrau  from  Interlaken  .  . 
Geneva,  Lake  and  City  . 


10] 

10^ 

IOC 

i  of 

IOC 
I  15 

lie 


141 


MS 


161 

165 
167 
i6c 
171 


177 

17* 


Illustrations. 


431 


SWITZERLAND: — 

Geneva,  Memorial  Hall  .     .     .  179 

Berne,  Street  Scene      .     .     .     .  181 
IRELAND: — 

Queenstown 184 

Lakes  of  Killarney      ....  185 

Belfast,  Donegal  Place     .     .     .  186 

"       Castle  Place    .     .     .     .  186 

Dublin,  Four  Courts   ....  187 

"       Custom  House     .     .     .  188 

SCOTLAND: — 

Edinburgh,  City  Keys      .     .     .  189 

"          City 190 

"          Royal  Exchange  .     .  191 

"          Bank  of  Scotland      .  192 

"          Weather     ....  193 

Glasgow 193 

SPAIN: — 

Madrid,  Statue  Philip  IV.     .     .  196 

"        Bull  Fighting       ...  197 

"        National  Dance  .     .     .  199 

Malaga,  Port  and  Cathedral       .  201 

Seville 205 

Granada,  The  Alhambra .     .     .  208 
ITALY: — 

Rome,  Bridge  of  St.  Angelo  and 

the  Borgo 217 

"       The  Capitol      ....  219 

"       Pyramid  of  Caius  Cestius  219 

"       Coliseum  by  Moonlight  .  220 

"       In  the  Forum   .     .     .     .  222 

Tombs  in  the  Catacombs  223 

"       Sistine  Chapel  ....  225 

."       Peasant  Children  .     .     .  227 

Naples,  Bay 230 

Florence,  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa  236 
"  Loggia  de'  Lanzi  .  .  237 
"  The  Campanile  .  .  239 


ITALY  : — 

Florence,  Ponte  Vecchio  .     .     .  241 

"        Chapel  of  the  Medici  .  243 

Venice,  Bridge  of  Sighs   .     .     .  245 

"       The  Canal      ....  245 

"       St.  Marks 246 

"       Doge's  Palace      .     .     .  247 
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: — 

Vienna,  Belvedere  Palace     .     .  249 
"      'Town  Hall  and  Parlia- 
ment Buildings     .     .  251 
"       The  Jews'  Quarter .     .  255 
"       St.  Stephen's  Church.  257 

Prague 265 

THE  LEVANT: — 

Constantinople,  a  Harem  Window  267 

"         Fountain  St.  Sophia  268 

"         The  Bosphorus  .     .  271 

"         Mussulman  Woman  272 

"         Tower  in  Bosphorus  273 

274 

Cairo,  Street  Scene      .     .     .     .  281 
Alexandria,    Place    Mohammed 

All   .     .     : 287 

INDIA: — 

Bedouin  and  Fellah     ....  288 

Dak-Ghari  Traveling  ....  289 

Temple  and  Sacred  Elephant    .  290 

Palace  of  the  Seths      ....  291 

Parsee  Children 293 

At  School 294 

Tomb  at  Ahar 295 

Mosque  at  Benares      ....  297 

Hindoo  Idols 299 

CHINA: — 

Pekin,  High  Street      .     .     .     .  301 

Hong  Kong,  Street  Scene     .     .  303 

A  Family  Dinner 307 


432 


Illustrations. 


CHINA: — 

Canton,  Street  Scene  ....  309 

Modes  of  Torture 311 

Temple  of  the  Gods    ....  313 

The  Great  Wall 315 

Mutual  Assistance 316 

Woman's   Shoe   and    Model   of 

Foot 317 

Chinese  Children 318 

JAPAN: — 

Yokohama,  Street  in  .     .     .     .  319 

Tattooed  Man 320 

Woman  and  Child 320 

Christmas  Celebration      .     .     .  321 

Tokio,  Traveling  in     ....  323 

Street  Ballad  Singer    ....  324 

Domestic  Altar  of  the  Gods  .     .  325 

Domestic  Scene 326 

CANADA: — 

Montreal 333 

Section  of  Victoria  Bridge    .     .  334 

Canadian  Amusements     .     .     .  335 

Quebec 337 

"        Street  Scene  ....  338 

MEXICO 340 

NEW  YORK  CITY: — 

New  York  Harbor 342 

City  Hall 343 

Barge  Office  .......  344 

Bartholdi's  Statue 345 

Western  Union  Building .     .     .  347 

Old  Post  Office 348 

New  Post  Office     .     .     .     .     .  349 

New  Court  House 352 

New   York    Herald    and    Park 

Bank 353 

New  York  Tribune      ....  354 

Academy  of  Design     .     .     .     .  355 


NEW  YORK  CITY. — 

Five  Points  Mission  House  . 

Sixth  Avenue  at  i4th  Street 

College  of  City  of  New  York 

Bowery  and  Grand  Street     . 

Grand  Central  Depot .     .     . 

Central  Park,  Skating  Pond  . 

"  Promenade 

"  Terrace 


356 
357 
358 

359 
360 

361 
362 

363 


Vinery  near  Casino  364 
"           Arsenal  and  Men- 
agerie     .     .     .  365 
"           Music  Stand    .     .  365 
Bridge  connecting  Brooklyn  and  New 

York 366 

Niagara  Falls 367 

Erie  Canal 369 

Albany,  State  Capitol 371 

BOSTON: — 

Fanueil  Hall 373 

Washington  Statue      ....  374 

New  (old)  South  Church      .     .  375 

Commonwealth  Avenue   .     .     .  376 

State  Street 377 

State  House 378 

Post  Office 379 

City  Hall 380 

Trinity  Church 381 

Christian  Association  ....  382 

Liberty  Tree 383 

Conservatory  of  Music     .     .     .  384 

Harvard  College     .     .     .     .     .  385 

Providence 386 

Hartford,  Capitol 389 

PHILADELPHIA: — 

Friends'  Meeting  House .     .     .  390 

Burial  Ground 391 

Ridgway  Library 392 


Illustrations. 


433 


PHILADELPHIA  : — 

Delaware  River      .... 

Independence  Hall      .     .     . 

Public  Ledger  Building  .     . 

Fairmount  Park  .... 
WASHINGTON: — 

White  House 

Capitol 

Senate  Chamber  .... 
CHICAGO: — 

Post  Office  and  Custom  House 

Michigan  Avenue   .... 

Central  Music  Hall      .     .     . 

Court  House  and  City  Hall  . 

Lasalle  Street  Tunnel      .     . 

Wabash  Avenue      .... 

Board  of  Trade 

Tribune  Building    .... 

Water  Works  Tower  . 


393 
394 
395 
396 

402 

403 
404 

406 
407 
408 
409 
410 
410 
411 
412 


CHICAGO. — 

Palmer  House 

ST.  Louis: — 

Custom  House  and  Post  Office 

Court  House 

Lindell  Hotel 

Fourth  Street 

Republican  Building  .     .     . 

Opera  House 

Fair  Grounds 

Southern  Hotel 

Bridge  at 

SAN  FRANCISCO: — 

Golden  Gate 

Nob  Hill 

Chinese  Quarter     .... 

City  Hall 

New  Orleans  . 


414 


416 

4i7 
418 
419 
420 
420 
421 
422 

423 
424 

425 
426 
427 


THE  GREA  T  CITIES  OF  THE 
ANCIENT  WORLD. 


By  Helen  Ainslie  Smith  ("Hazel  Shepard").      With  one  hundred  and 

five  illustrations.     Handsome  lithographed  double 

cover.     4to,  boards,  $1.50. 


" '  The  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World,' 
a  companion  volume  to  the  '  Great 
Cities  of  the  Modern  World,'  which  we 
had  occasion  to  commend.  Lifelike  de- 
scriptions are  given  of  the  external  as- 
pects and  the  character  of  the  chief 
ancient  towns  and  cities  in  the  time  of 
their  prosperity  and  splendor,  and  also 
of  the  association  of  such  places  with 
persons  and  events  of  historical  impor- 
tance."— Courant,  Hartford. 

"  The  illustrations,  aiming  to  repre- 
sent the  cities  of  antiquity  as  they  ap- 
peared at  their  prime  and  the  costumes 
of  their  inhabitants,  are  numerous  and 
striking.  ...  A  BODY  OF  USE- 
FUL INFORMATION.  .  .  ."—New 
York  Sun. 

"A  capital  book  for  the  young  is 
'  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World,'  a 
spirited  presentation  with  pen  and  with 
pencil  of  the  striking  features  of  the  fa- 
mous old  cities  of  allusions  to  which 
history  and  literature  are  full. 
IT  IS  WELL  WRITTEN  AND  VERY 
FULLY  AND  FINELY  ILLUSTRAT- 
ED THROUGHOUT.  .  .  .  The  volume 
will  help  young  readers  to  a  clear  idea  of 
what  Rome  and  Athens  and  Thebes  and 
Damascus  and  many  an  other  antique  town 


was  really  like,  and  it  should  be  in  the 
library  of  every  school  boy  and  school 
gi  r  1 . "  — Boston  Courier. 

"  '  The  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancitnt 
World'  contains  a  great  deal  of  infor- 
mation— historical,  geographical  and 
biographical.  Nearly  70  cities  of  an- 
tiquity are  described  in  a  lively  way, 
with  anecdotes  of  their  noted  inhabitants. 
The  book  is  made  up  with  a  good  deal 
of  care.  .  .  .  As  a  real  help  to  some 
knowledge  of  ancient  history  this  work 
has  received  warm  commendation  from 
excellent  teachers,  and  it  might  lighten 
the  tasks  of  many  pupils  who  do  not 
take  kindly  to  the  usual  text-books  of 
ancient  history." — Boston  Daily  Adver- 
tiser. 

"  '  The  Great  Cities  of  the  Ancient  World* 
gives  the  latest  fruits  of  antiquarian  re- 
search respecting  the  principal  cities  of 
Italy,  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Egypt,  the 
Colonies  and  Islands  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea,  Arabia,  Persia,  Syria  and  Mes- 
opotamia. By  aid  of  numerous  illustra- 
tions the  young  reader  is  helped  to  a 
very  satisfactory  acquaintance  with  the 
centres  of  interest  and  influence  in  the 
ancient  world." — Journal  of  Education, 
Boston. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers,    or  will  be  sent,  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  price,  by  the  publishers, 
GEORGE  ROUTLEDGE  &  SONS,  9  LAFAYETTE  PLACE,  NEW  YORK. 


THE  GREAT  CITIES  OF  THE 
MODERN  WORLD. 


Helen  Ainslie  Smith  ("  Hazel  Shepard  ").     With  two  hundred  and 
seventy  illustrations.     Handsome  lithographed  double 
cover.     4to,  boards,  $1.50. 


"  '  The  Great  Cities  tf  the  Modern  World,'  by 
Helen  Ainslie  Smith,  is  an  admirable  book. 
IT  IS  A  BRILLIANT  BOOK  OF  ITS  KIND, 
and  few  persons  who  open  its  first  pages  on  the 
cities  of  Russia  will  lay  it  down  until  they  have 
at  least  looked  through  it,  section  by  section — 
England,  France,  Germany,  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  down  to  the  United 
States  of  America.  All  the  great  cities  of  the 
world  are  here  described  in  a  series  of  panoramic 
paragraphs,  and  all  are  depicted  by  a  greater  or 
less  variety  of  wood-cuts  showing  streets  in 
action,  parks  in  peacefulness,  and  public  build- 
ings, statues,  fountains,  and  the  like.  The  read- 
ing matter,  though  succinct,  is  reasonably  accu- 
rate and  satisfactory,  and,  with  the  pictures,  gives 
true  and  graphic  ideas.  An  uncommon  amount 
of  pleasure  and  profit  may  be  had  from  the  book, 
and  WE  WONDER  THAT  WE  HAVE  NEVER 
HAD  ONE  LIKE  IT  BEFORE."— Literary 
World,  Boston. 


"  The  Great  Cities  of  the  Modern  World  is  a  copi- 
ously illustrated  volume  in  which  is  given  a  concise 
description  of  the  chief  cities  of  the  various  civil- 
ized countries  of  the  world,  and  also  some  ac- 
count of  the  characteristics  of  the  various  nations. 
It  will  give  some  idea  of  the  scope  of  the  book 
if  we  say  that  it  describes  and  illustrates  five 
cities  in  Russia,  thirteen  in  England,  eleven  in 
Germany,  eight  in  Italy,  nine  in  China,  and  thirty- 
eight  in  the  United  States.  Many  cities  in  many 
other  countries  are  also  described.  THE  TEXT 
OF  THIS  BOOK  IS  WELL  WRITTEN,  AND 
THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  ARE  ACCURATE 
REPRESENTATIONS  OF  SCENES,  CHAR- 
ACTERS AND  ARCHITECTURE."— Courant, 
Hartford. 


"...  Under  the  title  '  Great  Cities  of  the  Modem 
World'  George  Routledge  &  Sons  have  published 
a  very  interesting  volume,  in  which  every  me- 
tropolis of  note  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  is 
described  in  a  most  instructive  manner.  IT  IS 
AN  EXCELLENT  BOOK  FOR  THE  YOUNG, 
inasmuch  as  it  affords  an  insight  into  the  in- 
tellectual, commercial,  manufacturing  and  archi- 
tectural features  of  the  great  centres  with  which 
it  deals.  The  cities  are  grouped  according  to 
their  size  and  importance.  THE  ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS, WHICH  ARE  MANY  IN  NUMBER, 
depict  the  most  notable  buildings,  localities  and 
art  features  of  each  place.  ...  A  BOOK 
WHICH  MAY  BE  READ  BY  YOUNG  AND 
OLD  WITH  EQUAL  INTEREST,  AND  ONE, 
ALSO,  THAT  FILLS  A  VOID  OCCUPIED  BY 
NO  OTHER  WORK  OF  ITS  KIND."— Saturday 
Evening  Gazette,  Boston. 

"A  book  which  is  calculated  to  give  much 
pleasure  and  instruction.  It  is  a  collection  of  the 
best  cuts  of  well-known  buildings  and  views  in 
all  the  large  cities  of  the  globe,  supplemented  by 
concise  descriptions  and  explanations  embody- 
ing much  history  and  general  information.  TO 
BRIGHT  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  THE  VOLUME 
WILL  BE  THE  NEXT  BEST  THING  TO  A 
TRIP  ROUND  THE  WORLD.  To  older  people, 
unable  to  purchase  costly  books  of  travel,  it  will 
be  a  gratifying  hand-book  for  reference  and  study, 
and  to  those  who  have  travelled  and  seen  the 
cities  of  Europe  and  the  East  for  themselves  its 
pictures — many  of  which  are  taken  from  recent 
photographs — will  be  agreeable  reminders  of  past 
pleasures.  Any  one  thinking  of  sending  a  useful 
Christmas  book  to  a  country  boy  or  girl  whose 
chances  of  library  reading  are  small  may  well 
examine  this  volume." — Daily  Advertiser,  Boston. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent,  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  price,  by  the  publishers \ 
GEORGE   ROUTLEDGE  &   SONS,  9  LAFAYETTE  PLACE,  NEW  YORK. 


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